Ferdinand and Anderson return to fitness as Manchester United's ticket sales drop
Manchester United’s central defender Rio Ferdinand is all set for a return to action and according to reserve team boss, the player is also ready for the first team action.
Ferdinand, last night, played for the United’s second string in a competitive match against Oldham and came through unscathed while also impressing Ole Gunnar Solsjkaer with his performance.
Rio had been out of action since the second day of the World Cup training camp in South Africa where he suffered a knee ligament injury after freakishly colliding with Emile Heskey. The knee ligaments usually take 6-8 months for cure but Ferdinand at the age of 31 has shown great recovery and is now ready to return to full action in a little less than three months.
The star centre back made his comeback in the reserves’ match against Oldham, where he played for 45 minutes. After the match, Ole told reporters that the day was all about covering distances and getting tight on the ball while Rio did all that with remarkable ease and he is now available for selection.
The injury also cost Ferdinand a chance to captain his country at the World Cup and in addition to that he also missed out on the opening three games of the Premier League. But it is expected that Rio will be available for selection against Everton at Old Trafford on 11th September, which comes just ahead of the crucial Champions league opening fixture against Rangers and another all important Premier League clash against Liverpool.
Praising the 31-year-old defender, Solsjkaer said that Rio has always been a composed figure and although he was making a comeback after more than three months, he was still calm and collected. Ole thinks that coming through 45 minutes of a competitive fixture straight after two very strenuous training sessions is a giant leap that Rio has taken towards returning to full fitness. The club manager seems delighted with his progress.
Although, Solsjkaer substituted Rio at the half time but he later said that that’s what the plan was and Rio is a naturally fit player who didn’t need any more practice. During the match, Italian striker Kiki Macheda bagged the win as United beat their neighbors by 2-1. Also returning to action with that game was Manchester United’s Portuguese midfielder Anderson, who was also suffering from a knee cruciate ligament injury and had been ruled out of action for more than 6 months.
Meanwhile, Rio’s comeback is a little too late for his England duties as the first European qualifier against Bulgaria is scheduled for this Friday while the next game is against Switzerland on 7th September. But, nonetheless his return will give a huge boost to Capello’s injury ravaged central defense during the future matches.
In some off the pitch news, Manchester United’s CEO, David Gill has announced that United have failed to reach the season ticket sales’ target for this summer. Earlier, United were forced to put 4000 of their season tickets on general sale after failing to reach the target. Gill said that the sales of tickets during this season stand at 51800 which are short of the 54000 target but still, he is confident that the sales were on track. United sold a staggering 64000 tickets two years ago, out of which 8000 were premium ones. Last season, the tally only dipped by 500 but this year there has been a sharp drop.
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