Ferdinand should be fit to face Villa

Published: 02 Apr 2009 - 14:45:00

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Rio Ferdinand looks likely to give Manchester United a boost by declaring himself fit for the Premier League clash with Aston Villa on Sunday.Ferdinand was taken off just before the end of England's victory over the Ukraine at Wembley last night, sparking fears of a recurrence of the groin injury which kept him out of Saturday's encounter with Slovakia.Fabio Capello said Ferdinand would need to see the England doctor before an accurate diagnosis could be reached.However, as he left Wembley on Wednesday, Ferdinand signalled to the watching crowd that he would probably be fit for United duty at Old Trafford on Sunday.Sir Alex Ferguson will hope the early indication proves accurate as he is already without Nemanja Vidic through suspension.The Serbian must serve the second of a two-match ban he picked up for his dismissal against Liverpool a fortnight ago.In addition, Ferguson will be without Paul Scholes and in-form Wayne Rooney, who were both sent off seven days later at Fulham.If that was not bad enough, Dimitar Berbatov is struggling with an ankle injury, Anderson picked up a knee problem while on World Cup duty with Brazil and Carlos Tevez must travel back from South America trying to take in the enormity of Argentina's astonishing 6-1 defeat to Bolivia.It is hardly the ideal backdrop for an intense period of two games in three days, during which United must try and get their Premier League title defence back on track as well as take on FC Porto in the Champions League quarter final first leg.