Fat Tom
13-04-2006, 10:23 AM
indo today
MANCHESTER UNITED had cause for alarm yesterday when a small fire broke out at Old Trafford, but far more worrying for Alex Ferguson was a scare over the fitness of Louis Saha, whose ankle problem has resurfaced at a critical time during the team's late challenge for the Premiership title.
Saha has played an integral part in the run of form that has taken United to within seven points of Chelsea, forming an impressive partnership with Wayne Rooney and keeping Ruud van Nistelrooy out of the starting XI for six of the past eight matches, but his involvement during the run-in is not certain after he injured his ankle during a routine exercise at United's training ground yesterday morning.
The seriousness of the injury is not yet known, but Saha was examined by the club's medical staff and it is thought unlikely that he will play against Sunderland at Old Trafford tomorrow evening, which, if nothing else, is good news for Van Nistelrooy.
United also have a critical assignment away to Tottenham Hotspur on Monday, with Ferguson demanding maximum points from his team to give them a chance going into the showdown with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on April 29.
The injury comes at a bad time for Saha, 27. Having enjoyed his most productive spell as a United player over the past four months, he is hoping to secure his place in the France squad for the World Cup finals, having overtaken Djibril Cisse, the Liverpool forward, in the pecking order.
A succession of ankle and knee injuries severely restricted his progress in the two years after his £12.8m move from Fulham in January 2004, but since Christmas he has been in such fine form that he has kept out Van Nistelrooy, which would have been unthinkable at the start of the season.
Maximum
With or without Saha, United need maximum points over the Bank Holiday weekend if they are to keep alive their pursuit of Chelsea, but Mark Hughes, the Blackburn Rovers manager, believes that Ferguson's experience and ability to unsettle rivals could give his former club the edge.
"Chelsea would think they only need a couple more wins, but United will think it is not over yet," Hughes, whose team play Chelsea at Ewood Park on May 2, said.
"Sir Alex has had opportunities in the past to affect opposing managers and people have accepted that he has had an impact, so I'm sure he will try it again. There are ways and means to plant a seed of doubt in other people's minds."
The title remains a long shot for Ferguson's team, even if Chelsea face arduous tasks away to Bolton Wanderers and Newcastle United, as well as Blackburn, but the Scot believes that victory over Sunderland tomorrow will put Jose Mourinho's team under severe pressure before their visit to the Reebok Stadium the next afternoon. He will be firmly expected to try to plant further uncertainty in Chelsea minds when he holds his weekly press conference this lunchtime.
United believe that there could be a sell-out crowd when Roy Keane returns to Old Trafford with Celtic for his testimonial match on May 9.
More than 10,000 tickets have been sold since they went on sale on Monday and with huge numbers of fans expected to make the journey from Ireland as well as Glasgow, the former United captain could be on course for the most lucrative testimonial fixture of all time.
Keane was given a healthy payoff when his contract was terminated in November with more than six months remaining, but he could earn a tax-free sum of more than £2.5million, some of which will go to charity, if the ground is full to its newly increased capacity, which could be as high as 76,000 if construction work - yesterday's minor fire notwithstanding - is completed in time.
MANCHESTER UNITED had cause for alarm yesterday when a small fire broke out at Old Trafford, but far more worrying for Alex Ferguson was a scare over the fitness of Louis Saha, whose ankle problem has resurfaced at a critical time during the team's late challenge for the Premiership title.
Saha has played an integral part in the run of form that has taken United to within seven points of Chelsea, forming an impressive partnership with Wayne Rooney and keeping Ruud van Nistelrooy out of the starting XI for six of the past eight matches, but his involvement during the run-in is not certain after he injured his ankle during a routine exercise at United's training ground yesterday morning.
The seriousness of the injury is not yet known, but Saha was examined by the club's medical staff and it is thought unlikely that he will play against Sunderland at Old Trafford tomorrow evening, which, if nothing else, is good news for Van Nistelrooy.
United also have a critical assignment away to Tottenham Hotspur on Monday, with Ferguson demanding maximum points from his team to give them a chance going into the showdown with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on April 29.
The injury comes at a bad time for Saha, 27. Having enjoyed his most productive spell as a United player over the past four months, he is hoping to secure his place in the France squad for the World Cup finals, having overtaken Djibril Cisse, the Liverpool forward, in the pecking order.
A succession of ankle and knee injuries severely restricted his progress in the two years after his £12.8m move from Fulham in January 2004, but since Christmas he has been in such fine form that he has kept out Van Nistelrooy, which would have been unthinkable at the start of the season.
Maximum
With or without Saha, United need maximum points over the Bank Holiday weekend if they are to keep alive their pursuit of Chelsea, but Mark Hughes, the Blackburn Rovers manager, believes that Ferguson's experience and ability to unsettle rivals could give his former club the edge.
"Chelsea would think they only need a couple more wins, but United will think it is not over yet," Hughes, whose team play Chelsea at Ewood Park on May 2, said.
"Sir Alex has had opportunities in the past to affect opposing managers and people have accepted that he has had an impact, so I'm sure he will try it again. There are ways and means to plant a seed of doubt in other people's minds."
The title remains a long shot for Ferguson's team, even if Chelsea face arduous tasks away to Bolton Wanderers and Newcastle United, as well as Blackburn, but the Scot believes that victory over Sunderland tomorrow will put Jose Mourinho's team under severe pressure before their visit to the Reebok Stadium the next afternoon. He will be firmly expected to try to plant further uncertainty in Chelsea minds when he holds his weekly press conference this lunchtime.
United believe that there could be a sell-out crowd when Roy Keane returns to Old Trafford with Celtic for his testimonial match on May 9.
More than 10,000 tickets have been sold since they went on sale on Monday and with huge numbers of fans expected to make the journey from Ireland as well as Glasgow, the former United captain could be on course for the most lucrative testimonial fixture of all time.
Keane was given a healthy payoff when his contract was terminated in November with more than six months remaining, but he could earn a tax-free sum of more than £2.5million, some of which will go to charity, if the ground is full to its newly increased capacity, which could be as high as 76,000 if construction work - yesterday's minor fire notwithstanding - is completed in time.