Manchester United Football Club News

• Nickname:Red Devils
• Founded:1878
• Manager:Sir Alex Ferguson

• Ground:Old Trafford
• Capacity:68,174

Fergie plays down injuries

01 Apr 2007 - 07:57:34

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Sir Alex Ferguson has played down talk of a potential defensive injury crisis after Manchester United lost Nemanja Vidic to a shoulder injury in Saturday's 4-1 victory over Blackburn Rovers.

United will be without the commanding Serbian centre-half for Wednesday's Champions League quarter-final clash with AS Roma, while captain Gary Neville (ankle) and Mikael Silvestre (shoulder) also remain sidelined.

But despite the loss of Vidic, Ferguson believes his fringe players will step up to the plate and patch-up his injury-ravaged defence as the season moves towards its final weeks.

"We will try to get Nemanja back as quickly as we can," confirmed Ferguson.

"As I have been saying for a while now, the most important thing for us now is for the bench to prove itself.

"We have a few alternatives available to us and I will be looking at the best way to use them."

Meanwhile, Ferguson claimed his players are "beginning to taste" the title following their come-from-behind 4-1 win over Blackburn at Old Trafford.

"I think the fans are starting to smell it now and the players are beginning to taste it," added the United boss.

"The second-half performance was our best of the season.

"It was the kind of performance you expect from a championship team. We showed resolve, determination and drive."