Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson says injuries to players could hamper hopes of treble

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson says injuries to players could hamper hopes of treble

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson feels that injuries and suspensions to his players could prove fatal to their hopes of winning three different competitions in the ongoing 2010-11 season.

The Red Devils are aiming to repeat the 1999 treble-winning season in which they won the UEFA Champions League, Barclays Premier League and FA Cup in an empathic fashion and became the first club in England to win three different competitions in a single season.

However, Sir Alex Ferguson fears that the increasing number of injured players could prevent them from repeating their 1999 feat.

He said, “It’s bad luck, with all the injuries we’ve got. It’s more difficult now than it was in 1999 because we didn’t have an injury back then. We went through the last three months of the season without one injury. It was amazing. That kind of luck has deserted us at the moment because we have so many injuries, particularly to defenders, which makes it more difficult.”

“But there’s a great desire to do it [the Treble]. Anyone given the opportunity to achieve that type of target will always try to take it. You see the character of our players and I’m happy with that,” added Sir Alex.

Despite a two-week international break, most of the Manchester United players especially defenders have failed to recover from their injuries.

Rio Ferdinand, Wes Brown, Rafael Pereira da Silva and John O’Shea could not participate in United’s recent win over West Ham United and are likely to be out of action for a few more days.

Moreover, Jonny Evans is also facing a three-match ban after he was shown a straight red for his horrible tackle on Bolton Wanderers’ Stuart Holden. Along with Evans, Manchester United’s most experienced midfielder Paul Scholes is also suspended.

United are the only team in England which is competing in three different competitions. Sir Alex Ferguson feels that unavailability of so many players will surely affect United’s bid for winning the historic second treble. How much it affects them, only time will tell.