Sir Alex Ferguson today rubbished reports that Michael Owen's season has been ended by a groin injury, saying he could be fit to face Marseille on Wednesday.
The Manchester United manager has had to scrap plans to play the 31-year-old against non‑League Crawley Town in the fifth round of the FA Cup tomorrow.
But Ferguson stressed that the damage Owen suffered in training this week was only minor and that he is hoping to field the striker in the away leg of the last-16 Champions League tie. He said: "Michael suffered a small injury during the week which will force him out tomorrow.
"It is disappointing because I was going to play him but there is no point taking a risk and he could be available for the Marseille game."
Ferguson also confirmed central defenders Rio Ferdinand (groin) and Jonny Evans (ankle) will not be available for the Crawley tie at Old Trafford and he expects midfielder Park Ji-sung to be out until next month with a hamstring injury.
"He got it in the last minute of training last Friday," said Ferguson. "It is a blow because we missed him during January because of the Asian Cup."
Winger Antonio Valencia, who broke his ankle in September, is edging towards a return. Ferguson added: "He's done a full week with the reserves doing non-contact work. Everything is right about him. We hope he can join the first team by the end of next week."
The manager claimed there was no news on a new contract for Patrice Evra, even though reports originating in France claimed the full-back had agreed a four-year deal.
