Neville: Eight Months Out
Times: Gary Neville has suffered another setback in his bid to recover from the longest injury layoff of his career, having pulled out of a proposed come-back match for Manchester United reserves against Liverpool last night.
Neville’s fitness is a growing concern for United and England after an absence that is expected to drag into an eighth month. The 32-year-old had hoped an appearance in last night’s reserve-team match would end the anguish that began with an ankle ligament injury during United’s 4-1 victory over Bolton Wanderers on March 17, but as he struggles to fight off calf and thigh injuries, his return to competitive action has been delayed for at least a fortnight.
Sir Alex Ferguson, the United manager, tried to dismiss concerns about Neville’s long-term future yesterday, saying that his captain was “over his last injury” and “only needs games now”. United maintain that Neville’s omission from last night’s match was a precautionary measure, rather than a reaction to a new problem, but there is concern about his susceptibility to injury. Since the start of the 2004-05 season, he has missed 52 of United’s 123 league matches.
In his absence, Micah Richards has established himself at right back for England and it is not clear whether Neville would have won back his place had he been fit to play in the European Championship qualifying matches against Estonia tomorrow and Russia on Wednesday.
At United, Wes Brown has enjoyed an almost uninterrupted run at right back since March. In the longer term, Ferguson has high hopes for Danny Simpson, who made his Barclays Premier League debut against Wigan Athletic on Saturday, and Rafael and Fabio Silva, the 17-year-old Brazilian twins, who hope to receive clearance to join from Fluminense in January.
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Guardian: Gary Neville has suffered another setback in his rehabilitation programme from seven months of recurrent injury problems. The Manchester United defender was due to play for the reserves against Liverpool last night but had to withdraw on medical advice.
The club have described it as a precautionary measure, rather than Neville’s condition worsening, but it still represents a demoralising blow for the England right-back, who has not played since hurting himself in a challenge with Bolton’s Gary Speed during a 4-1 win for Sir Alex Ferguson’s team at Old Trafford on March 17.
Neville must now wait until October 24 before his next chance to make his comeback, when United’s reserves play Wigan Athletic, and it is not thought he will be in a position to return to the first team until Blackburn Rovers visit Old Trafford on November 11.
