Ferguson hopeful of speedy recovery for Ferdinand

Ferguson has played down the extent of Rio Ferdinand´s, seen here in 2006, foot injury and is hopeful the England centreback will be able to play in Wednesday´s Champions League clash with Roma.

      MANCHESTER (AFP) - Alex Ferguson has played down the extent of Rio Ferdinand's foot injury and is hopeful the England centreback will be able to play in Wednesday's Champions League clash with Roma.

      Ferdinand was feared to be facing an extended lay-off after he limped out of Sunday's 2-2 Premier League draw at Middlesbrough and left the Riverside stadium on crutches with his left foot in a protective casing.

      A scan has since assuaged fears that the defender had suffered a fracture and Ferguson said he would decide on Wednesday morning whether Ferdinand could feature in the quarter-final second leg against Roma, in which United will be seeking to book their place in the last four with the help of a 2-0 first-leg advantage.

      "I'm hoping he will be playing tomorrow," Ferguson said of Ferdinand. "His scan was clear, which was good news. That's the most important thing and therefore we hope can get him fit for tomorrow."

      Even if Ferdinand has recovered sufficiently to play, it seems unlikely Ferguson will risk him aggravating the injury ahead of Sunday's high-stakes Premier League encounter with Arsenal.

      With Nemanja Vidic also currently sidelined, young Catalan defender Gerard Pique is expected to partner Wes Brown in the centre of defence and Ferguson confirmed that he intends to give long-term injury victims Gary Neville and Mikael Silvestre some match time.

      "Neville and Silvestre with both be involved and one of them may start depending on Rio," Ferguson said.

      Neville has not played in over a year having suffered repeated setbacks in his recovery from a variety of injuries while Silvestre has just completed his rehabilitation following a cruciate ligament injury he suffered in September.

      Neville would appear to be the more likely starter if Brown is switched from the right-back berth to the centre of defence, although France defender Silvestre is also an accomplished centreback.

      "The good thing is that they are both back and training very well with no interruptions, which is the best news we've had about Gary for a few months now," Ferguson said.

      "I'm very confident about his progress now and his ability to play in a match like tomorrow. They have both got good experience and that helps me in terms of making a decision."