Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson hopes the club’s defensive woes will start to ease once they make it through the next week.
With Chris Smalling and Phil Jones already sidelined, Ferguson last week expressed the hope his remaining centre-halves would remain fit.
That desire was dashed on Tuesday, when it was confirmed skipper Nemanja Vidic had undergone knee surgery that will keep him out for another two months.
It leaves Rio Ferdinand and Jonny Evans as United’s only fit central defenders for Saturday evening’s encounter with Tottenham.
And as his side also have a UEFA Champions League trip to Cluj, and a Premier League match with Newcastle before the next international break, Ferguson must feel like wrapping Ferdinand and Evans in cotton wool.
“Everyone knows the situation with our defenders,” said Ferguson. “We are having a hard time with that.
“Nemanja Vidic being out is a blow to us and we simply cannot take a risk with defenders.
“We just hope if we can get through the next two league games it will give us a little breather and we can start to get one or two of them back.”
SkySports
