Friday, September 23, 2005

Neville set to miss next six weeks through injury

Manchester United defender Gary Neville has been rulled out for up to six weeks after undergoing groin surgery. Neville, 30, suffered the injury during the Champions League qualifier against Debrecen in Hungary in August. Neville was hoping to return to action against Blackburn but, after breaking down in training on Thursday, decided to undergo surgery.Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson said: "It is a blow but we think it is the best course of action." Ferguson resigned himself to being without the experienced defender for at least six weeks.


He said: "The recovery time from the operation is a month and then it will take another two or three weeks to get his fitness back." Neville will be ruled out until the middle of November and will miss the key Premiership clash with leaders Chelsea on 6 November. He will also be sidelined for England's World Cup qualifying matches against Austria and Poland next month.

This is another big blow for United after Gabriel Heinze also is set to be out for a lengthy period of time. Neville has been a great player for United over the past few years and this will be a big blow because John O' Shea hasn't been at his best this season so far. Neville is 30 years old and he will probablly retire in the next five years so this is a bit of a dent in his great carrer.