Manchester United midfielder Anderson could be out for up to two months with a knee injury he suffered in his side’s narrow FA Cup victory over Crawley Town on Saturday.
Anderson came off at half time at Old Trafford and scans have revealed he has damaged ligaments which could require surgery. Even if he does not need an operation he is expected to be sidelined until mid-April.
The news comes as a blow for Sir Alex Ferguson given injury-stricken Owen Hargreaves has failed to complete his return to central midfield this season.
Ferguson must now rely on Darren Fletcher, Michael Carrick and veteran Paul Scholes to cover that area as the fixtures stack up as United fight for silverware on three fronts.
Carrick could be the main beneficiary of Anderson’s woe as he pushes for a more significant role in the team. Before flying out with the squad to France for United’s Champions League last-16 first leg tie against Marseillie, he spoke of the buzz he gets from being involved in Europe’s top club competition.
“The buzz you get with the Champions League is something that no other competition brings,” Carrick said. “It was strange watching Tottenham and Arsenal last week and not being involved. We have had to wait an extra week but we are ready for it.”
United will be coming across an old boy in Gabriel Heinze, who spent three seasons at Old Trafford before an acrimonious departure in 2007, when the Red Devils refused to allow the Argentina full-back to join Liverpool. Heinze eventually left for Real Madrid instead, moving on to Marseille two years later, since when he has become a key member of their defence. Whether the 32-year-old can contain former team-mate Wayne Rooney is another matter.
Rooney might have been in a bad mood during his second-half contribution to Saturday’s narrow FA Cup win over non-league Crawley, but seven days previously he had scored what has been hailed as one of the best goals Old Trafford has ever seen. As a top-level professional, performing an overhead kick should be nothing special to Carrick. However, even he was staggered by the manner Rooney took his chance.
“I felt shock and surprise because it was completely out of the blue,” said the 29-year-old. “But at the same time there was pure elation. I was standing on the touchline about to come on and thought of doing a (Jose) Mourinho down the line. Straight away you knew you’d witnessed something special.
“It’s an instinctive thing. The ball was delivered in the right way for the overhead kick and was the perfect height for him to get up there and volley it. But it’s one thing seeing it, quite another being able to do it. The power and direction he got behind it were incredible.”
UEFA has hit AC Milan midfielder Gennaro Gattuso with a four-match ban for his headbutt on Tottenham assistant Joe Jordan during last week’s Champions League first-leg clash, and the Rossoneri have confirmed they will not appeal the decision.
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