By Alan Duffy
Demoralised Manchester United fans had feared the worst after their captain, Nemanja Vidic, was stretchered off during that disastrous Champions League exit in Basel during the week. And now, those fears have been realised, with Sir Alex Ferguson revealing that the Serbian centre-half would miss the rest of the season with knee ligament damage.
“Nemanja is out for the season,” said Fergie. “It is bad news. He will be a loss. I thought (the injury) was a bad one when I saw it.”
“(Vidic) sees the specialist on Monday to map out the progress of when he has the operation. It won’t be immediate because we have to let the swelling come down.”
This season, despite recently stringing together a series of 1-0 wins, United haven’t looked as solid as they have in previous campaigns, with their defence not always convincing. Therefore, the loss of Vidic will surely make it even harder for the red half of Manchester to catch their noisy, and wealthy neighbours as they run away with the title.
A central defensive panel of Jonny Evans, Phil Jones, Chris Smalling and and an ageing Rio Ferdinand may not be strong enough for Fergie’s liking, with a move in January for a top quality centre-half surely on the cards. Would United go for Gary Cahill?