Rio fit to face Trotters
16 Mar 2007 - 13:18:43
Manchester United have played down reports that Rio Ferdinand was set to miss vital games in the Premiership title run-in after breaking a rib by claiming the England defender is fit to face Bolton Wanderers on Saturday.
Reports in Friday's newspapers suggested the central defender had suffered a broken rib in last weekend's 2-2 FA Cup draw with Middlesbrough.
Ferdinand was one of only few first-team regulars not to make an appearance in Tuesday's charity game against a European XI at Old Trafford.
But United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has rubbished reports that Ferdinand will miss some vital fixtures for both club and country in the coming weeks at his pre-match press conference at Carrington.
However, United do have other problems with Mikael Silvestre, Darren Fletcher, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Louis Saha all out injured and Paul Scholes suspended for the next two matches.
Meanwhile, Wes Brown has called on his team-mates to produce a performance similar to the one that saw that thrash Bolton 4-0 at the Reebok Stadium earlier in the season.
Wayne Rooney scored a hat-trick and Cristiano Ronaldo got on the scoresheet as United ran riot against the Trotters.
"We were outstanding in the game at The Reebok earlier this season, we really showed what we can do," he told the club's official website.
"They're a tough side to play against but our confidence is very high at the moment and we've been doing well at home this season.
"We'll be going into the game looking for the win and aiming to play as well as we did in the match at The Reebok."