Man Utd have missed O'Shea's versatility in defence

Sir Alex Ferguson has admitted that it could be another two months before John O'Shea is ready to return from injury.

The Manchester United defender picked up a thigh injury during the Republic of Ireland's World Cup play-offs exit against France in November.

United boss Ferguson said: "There is no sign at all of recovery for John.

"We just want to get him back but it could be a couple of months yet. He is a big loss because he is such a versatile player."

O'Shea's injury was initially thought to be nothing more serious than a dead leg.

But Ferguson revealed that when he returned from international duty, blood had congealed in his muscle, raising the possibility of further problems.

It consigned O'Shea to the sidelines at a time when his ability to play right across the back four would have been invaluable.

606: DEBATE Who have had the worst injury crisis, United or Arsenal? Viva Da Silva!

In his absence, the likes of Darren Fletcher and Michael Carrick have been forced to help out in defence, with the Premier League champions also hit by injuries to Rio Ferdinand, Jonny Evans, Nemanja Vidic and Wes Brown.

The return of Vidic and Brown has coincided with a two-match winning run over Christmas that yielded eight goals, five of them coming against Wigan at Old Trafford on Wednesday.

The pair will continue to shoulder the burden for now, but Ferguson is optimistic Evans will return to duty in the next 10 days, with Ferdinand not too far behind.

England international Ferdinand has been plagued by a long-term back problem which medical staff at Old Trafford believe is finally on the mend.

"Jonny has been involved in the football side for a few days," said Ferguson, celebrating his 68th birthday on New Year's Eve.

"He is doing well and should be back quicker, within the next 10 days or so.

"Rio is nowhere near that but the main thing is there is no recurrence of his back problem. That is what we have been waiting for.

"We wanted him to come through the test of running and turning. He is doing his programme in the gym and at the moment it is looking very healthy."

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version