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Patrice Evra jokes around with Rio Ferdinand (bottom) - Source: Reuters -
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Defender Rio Ferdinand will miss Manchester United's Champions League quarter-final first leg against Porto on Wednesday after failing to recover from a groin injury, manager Alex Ferguson said.
The problem forced the England centre back to sit out Monday's dramatic 3-2 home win over Aston Villa in the Premier League, a match where United's defensive unit looked unusually vulnerable.
With Ferguson wary of the threat posed by Porto and their powerful Brazilian striker Hulk, he admitted there needed to be a big defensive improvement if his side are to take a commanding advantage into the return leg in Portugal.
"We knew it was a difficult situation (against Villa) but we chose the right options in terms of the fact players were coming back from international duty," Ferguson told a news conference.
"Most of the players will be okay and we can bring some fresh faces in but Rio, no, I don't think so.
"For most of the game against Villa we looked fragile defensively. There was that fragility at the back but we can change things. The win in the end has galvanised the whole club."
The holders will be boosted by the return from domestic suspension of Nemanja Vidic, Paul Scholes and Wayne Rooney, who all missed the Villa game which was decided by teenage substitute Federico Macheda's stoppage-time winner.
The 17-year-old's reward for his dream debut was a place among the substitutes for Tuesday's match at Old Trafford.
"The young boy came on and did an incredible job. It was just one of those incredible moments," said Ferguson.
"I think he will be involved off the bench. We've got Wayne Rooney back, which is a big bonus, but it's difficult to leave him (Macheda) out."
Meanwhile, Arsenal will be without striker Robin van Persie for
Wednesday's Champions League quarter-final first leg trip to
Villarreal with a groin injury.
Van Persie missed Sunday's 2-0 home win over Manchester City and
was ruled out of the game by manager Arsene Wenger, the club's
website reported.
Fellow striker Eduardo da Silva is also out, with a groin strain,
but Samir Nasri, who had flu, and Theo Walcott (knee) were both
passed fit for the game.
Wenger is starting to get most of his injured players back again
now and Cesc Fabregas and Emmanuel Adebayor both made long-awaited
returns on Saturday when the Spain midfielder set up both goals for
the Togo striker.
Both should start in Spain, although midfielder Andrei Arshavin is
ineligible having played for Zenit St Petersburg earlier in the
competition.
Wenger said that his side had to be particularly on their guard
against former Gunners Pascal Cygan and Robert Pires.
"They want to show you that they still have the quality and they
are even more resolute to punish you," he told the BBC.
"Everybody who loves Arsenal loves Robert Pires. For us he was
fantastic," he said of the midfielder who spent six years at
Arsenal and played in the semi-final victory over Villarreal in
2006.
