Source: Manchester_EveningNews
Ferguson's full house at United
EVEN holidaying in America, Sir Alex Ferguson will have assumed his familiar role as the over- protective parent while his charges are away on international duty. News that Wayne Rooney and Jonny Evans were forced to withdraw from the England and Northern Ireland squads respectively will hardly have aided what was expected to be a relaxing break with his family. But he is hopeful that both will be fit enough for inclusion in United's squad to face Bolton on Saturday. And Fergie will also have been heartened by the promising returns from injury of Rafael da Silva and Gabriel Obertan this week. Following Edwin van der Sar's recovery from a broken hand, Owen Hargreaves' continued progress after his double knee operation and Michael Owen's return from a groin strain, it leaves the United manager in the unusual position of having a virtually full-strength squad. All eyes were on Rafael and Obertan in Monday's Manchester Senior Cup clash with Oldham, with both having been sidelined this season. Obertan has yet to figure in competitive action since his £3m move from Bordeaux in the summer after having an operation on his back. Rafael, meanwhile, has failed to build on his impressive breakthrough last term because of a shoulder injury. But both played 45 minutes for the reserves and came through unscathed. United reserves assistant, Warren Joyce, said: "The boys were coming back from injuries and they were only planned to play 45 minutes. Obertan movement "Rafa's worked really hard to get his fitness levels back. He's an enthusiastic, bubbly character and I thought his fitness levels looked good. "Some of the quality touches and movement from Obertan were excellent, and his fitness levels looked really good as well. "He was inventive, he received it well and his movement off the ball was good as well, so he can be very pleased. "He's been desperate to get that 45 minutes under his belt, he's been desperate to do even more training than he's done." Ferguson has rarely been so blessed with options in recent years with United suffering a catalogue of injuries over the last two seasons. Hargreaves, Paul Scholes, Wes Brown, Gary Neville and Ben Foster have all been high-profile and long-term absentees, in a period in which Ferguson has juggled his squad remarkably well to win a hat-trick of Premier League titles and reached back-to-back Champions League finals. He has also had to deal with lengthy lay-offs to key players like Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo, Michael Carrick, Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic and Van der Sar during that time. Signs of a near clean bill of health for his squad will present him with the kind of headaches he will find welcome - especially in a season in which he hopes to challenge on all fronts again. Ferguson was intentionally modest in the transfer market last summer because he was convinced he had a squad capable of winning an unprecedented fourth successive Premier League title. The signings of Owen, Obertan and Antonio Valencia were all made with a view to providing his squad with strength in depth - even if they lacked the glamour of the departing Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez. And it is with that in mind that he will be particularly buoyed by Obertan's successful return this week. He sees the left of midfield as a problem area, with Nani, Ji Sung Park and even Rooney being asked to do jobs in that role in recent times. Zoran Tosic is still not seen as ready for the rigours of English football, despite having since January to acclimatise to the Premier League - and it is only the ageless displays of Ryan Giggs that have helped United cope with their deficiencies on the left. But Ferguson hopes Obertan can rediscover the form that made him one of the most sought-after young players in Europe. So keen is he to involve the Frenchman that he even named him in his squad for the first phase of the Champions League, despite him still not having fully recovered from his back problems at the time. What is your verdict on the United squad developments? Have your say.
