Injury Update: Sir Alex Ferguson expects trio to be fit for White Hart Lane
Manchester United expect three of their top players to be fit in time for their trip to White Hart Lane on 16 January.
Wayne Rooney, Nemanja Vidic and Edwin van der Sar did not feature in United’s 1-0 win over Liverpool in the third round of the FA Cup, on 9 January. However, they will play against the all-action Tottenham on Sunday.
"Wayne and Nemanja have both trained well this week and should be fit for Sunday. Edwin is a little bit behind them, but he should train today and I think he'll be okay," stated Sir Alex Ferguson.
Meanwhile, the manager was delighted to have the players back for one of the biggest games of the season. Ferguson further added that a lot is expected from the game as both sides had a week’s time to prepare for it.
It is widely speculated that this may be the match where Manchester United finally succumb to the first defeat of their otherwise unbeaten season in the Premier League. United’s last defeat came against Chelsea in April 2010, which
helped the Blues dethrone the three-time defending champions, scoring a Premier League title.
Many critics believe that Spurs may be the only outfit to challenge United’s unbeaten season and slow them down to make the title race more interesting. Sir Alex has already labelled this season to be a 5-way title race, something
that has not happened ever before.
In his 25 years with Manchester United, Ferguson agreed that this was the only time he was facing Tottenham as genuine title contenders. The manager added that during his era, he has never seen Tottenham chasing the title and praised
Harry Redknapp’s impact on the club. Fergie labelled this match as the biggest challenge yet for his squad, but wanted to get things done.
Tottenham have been explosive this season and are just two points behind Chelsea. The side has beaten the best in the business, having recorded wins against Arsenal in the Premier League, Inter Milan, FC Twente and the ever-threatening
German side Werder Bremen in the Champions League. Despite being in the second toughest group of the Champions League, Spurs managed to finish atop, just one point above treble-winning Milan.