Manchester United injury crisis..or not?

Fixture pileups and injury threaten to ruin all the hard work that United have put in throughout the season. But do we have faith in our glorious manager? Of course we do. As the days progress things look more and more bleak, but if there is one man to pull us through it is Ferguson.

Let’s take a look at who is out. Van Der Sar looks a doubt for Saturday’s game. The man who has rallied the defence in recent weeks, could be a key loss for us on Saturday. I am sure that we would not be facing a replay against Middlesbrough, had he been between the posts on Saturday.

Next up is the defensive pairing of Vidic and Ferdinand. Both face a race to be fit for Saturday. Ferdinand in particular pulled up quite sharply at the weekend, let’s hope it’s nothing serious. I think without those 2 at the back we look particularly vulnerable, especially against the more physical sides.

Then there is Evra and Silvestre. Evra has had a fantastic season and it is a shame to see him pick-up another strain as the season reaches a crucial point. Silvestre has been a fringe player this time around, however his ability to fill in at the back has provided welcome cover for the centre backs at crucial moments of the season when united face fixture pileups. The one saving grace we have is Heinze. His stirling performance at the weekend was nothing short of breath taking. He is a class defender that offers so much going forward and even more defensively. If there was ever a time for a player to reclaim his place in the starting eleven, now would be it.

The midfield is missing Scholes through suspension and Fletcher through injury. Scholes will now be back to face Blackburn and Fletcher’s injury is not as bad as first thought. We hope that, Giggs, Ronaldo, Park, O’Shea and Carrick can hold the fort in the coming weeks.

Up front is where things look decidedly thin. Saha is out until the end of March with a thigh strain and Solskjaer has had an operation on his knee. That leaves us with Rooney, Smith and Dong, the latter two are decidedly lacking in first team experience this season. It is now more than ever that we will rely on Ronaldo and Giggs for attacking support..

Ferguson has been particularly brave about the situation. Unlike Mourinho, you don’t hear him whinging to the press about the terrible time his squad are having and how the opposition are lucky etc etc. Instead what Ferguson does better than any other manager is he supports his entire squad. If one player gets injured he assures the world that another can aptly fill in. He rallies and Marshals his men, giving them a hunger, desire and more importantly a belief that anything and everything is possible, you just need to believe in yourself. Does anybody remember the Champions league final of 99?

So as the season approaches the final stages, I have no doubt that our manager is the man to keep the campaign alive on three fronts. He is a master at man management and I am sure we will see his vast array of skills on show in the coming weeks. Roll on another treble!