Ferdinand and Evra back to face Blues

9 January 09 by Bill

Rio Ferdinand will be back for United this weekend to face Chelsea after the defender returned to training following injury.

Ferdinand has been out the last four matches since suffering a recurrence of a back injury but returns in time for the Reds top of the table clash with Chelsea at Old Trafford on Sunday.

Speaking at his pre-match press conference Alex Ferguson said “Rio is fit to play. He’s missed the last few games and that’s given us time to get things settled down. He’s very good; he’s trained for the last few days and is feeling much better.

He is one of the best centre backs in the world, and it does make a difference because he’s got the stature and presents to play in the big games.”

Ferdinand’s return to action will be a disappointment for young centre back Jonny Evans who has come on leaps and bounds this season. With Ferdinand back to partner Nemanja Vidic at the centre of United’s defence, Evans will have to make do with a spot on the bench.

Manchester United have an almost complete squad to choose from for the match at Old Trafford and the team is also boosted by the fact that Patrice Evra will be back following his four match suspension following the incident at Stamford Bridge last season.

“We had 24 players training this morning” said Ferguson. “Patrice will be the freshest man on the pitch on Sunday. He’s had a nice break, but he’s training well, he’s looking forward to it and it’s a great boost because he’s been fantastic this season. So we’ve everyone fit the Sunday except Wes [Brown] and Owen [Hargreaves], which is a really good position to be in.”