Rio Ferdinand has been ruled out for at least another six weeks with his knee ligament injury, opening the way for an understudy to start the season alongside Nemanja Vidic.
The news came direct from Alex Ferguson himself as he gave an appraisal of United’s current crop of injuries prior to their next fixture in their US tour; United take on Kansas City this afternoon.
“Rio should be six weeks, maybe. It was a knee ligament injury and you’ve got to be careful with those.”
Ferdinand’s setback is just one of many prolonged absences through injury in recent seasons and these persistent problems have seen him slip in Fantasy terms from a highly sought after purchase, to a forgotten figure. His only significance to Fantasy Managers now revolves around his spells out which immediately present opportunities to cash in on a cheaper option in the United defence…
This applies again in this instance. In all likelihood, Ferdinand will be given until after the International break on September 3 to stake a claim for a start in the side. A target date of September 12 when United travel to Goodison Park would seem a realistic. The following week Liverpool come to Old Trafford so you have to question whether Ferdinand will be risked given the opposition in those two fixtures.
Ferdinand’s absence could well extend into October then, leaving a gap alongside Vidic which the likes of Jonny Evans, Chris Smalling and Wes Brown will fight over.
The smart money has to be on Evans. He is the man with experience and Ferguson’s confidence in the young Irishman has hardly ever wavered. Evans started 18 times last season in the Premier League, claiming 7 clean sheets in the process with just 12 goals conceded.
Chris Smalling, the new signing from Fulham, could be a factor but his relative inexperience will be a concern. Evans meanwhile has started both United’s pre-season friendlies and should he remain a fixture over the remaining pre-season games, would seem nailed on to start against Newcastle on August 16. A start in the Community shield date with Chelsea on August 8 would confirm that.
Evans would then be in line for at least three starts against attractive opposition with Newcastle, West Ham and Fulham presenting themselves for United’s openers. As suggested, you can also see Evans holding his place for the games against Everton and Liverpool that follow on.
Fantasy Premier League Managers can pluck Evans from the player list for a fee of 5.5 – that’s the same bracket as Tottenham’s Michael Dawson and Everton’s Phil Jagielka – both of which look certain to be popular initial signings. Evans now looks to be on a par at least with those selections given that he appears to offer a secure route to potential United clean sheets over the first three games at least.