Double blow for Man Utd

14 April 2012

Manchester United's Champions League hopes were dealt a blow this morning when both Roy Keane and Rio Ferdinand were ruled out of tomorrow's encounter with Sparta Prague.

Keane was not with the squad flying out to the Czech capital after contracting a virus and Ferdinand, who would almost certainly have skippered United in the Irishman's absence, was due to attend his grandmother's funeral.

Mikael Silvestre is an automatic choice to fill the central defensive vacancy alongside Wes Brown but manager Sir Alex Ferguson does now have a midfield selection dilemma.

Paul Scholes should return to the starting line-up after a substitute appearance in the disappointing 0-0 draw at Birmingham on Saturday, but the other central midfield berth will be between Eric Djemba-Djemba, Kleberson, Darren Fletcher and Phil Neville.

Gabriel Heinze is likely to replace Quinton Fortune at left-back after the South African was ruled out with a calf problem.

There was some good news for Ferguson with both Wayne Rooney and Ryan Giggs available for the Red Devils' first competitive trip to Prague.

Rooney suffered a dead leg at St Andrews, while Giggs missed the game altogether with a virus.

However, both men were passed fit to travel and look almost certain to start as United look to consolidate their position at the top of Group D.

With four points and eight goals from their two previous outings in the competition, United's form has been in sharp contrast to the below-par fare they have produced in the Premiership.

Saturday's stalemate in the midlands means they have won just three of their nine league matches and have scored only nine goals.

Ferguson's other main strikers Ruud van Nistelrooy, Alan Smith and Louis Saha were also in the squad, giving the United boss a chance to find the right formation ahead of next Sunday's must-win encounter with Arsenal.

"I suppose you could look upon the Champions League as a distraction," said Phil Neville.

"But I have to say we are not too worried about the goal situation. With the strikers we have, scoring goals shouldn't be a problem.

"Tomorrow's game is very important for us. We have probably our biggest match of the season on Sunday and we don't want to be going into it short of confidence."

Team (from): Carroll, Howard, Ricardo, G Neville, Silvestre, Brown, Heinze, O'Shea, Ronaldo, Scholes, Fletcher, Kleberson, Djemba-Djemba, Miller, P Neville, Bellion, Giggs, Rooney, Saha, Smith, van Nistelrooy.

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