Manchester United's Owen Hargreaves has been ruled out of England's opening World Cup qualifiers, adding to Fabio Capello's problems in midfield. Hargreaves, who joins Steven Gerrard on the sidelines, is recovering from tendinitis in his knee and will play in United's Super Cup game on Friday.
Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic claims to have been misquoted in an interview with Russian football magazine Football Weekly in which he was critical of the Manchester weather and the English lifestyle.
Manchester United's victory over Portsmouth on Monday was met with relief by Rio Ferdinand who said last night the Premier League champions are determined not to play catch-up for a second consecutive season.
Complaining about the weather is one of Britain's most treasured hobbies, so Sir Alex Ferguson must be unsure whether to praise Nemanja Vidic's integration into local culture or to criticise his lack of diplomatic skills after the Serbian defender spoke about his rain-induced depression yesterday.
Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has confirmed Rio Ferdinand will be captain of the Red Devils one day.
Ferdinand missed out on the England captaincy this week when Fabio Capello plumped for John Terry.
Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic have been nominated for UEFA's European Player of the Year Award.
Last year's Champions League top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo, Liverpool's Fernando Torres and Chelsea's Frank Lampard will all be leading contenders for the award. Barcelona's Lionel Messi and Carles Puyol are also in contention.
Manchester United winger Nani feels in good nick after featuring in Portugal's 5-0 victory over the Faroe Islands last night.
Nani missed United's 1-1 draw with Newcastle on Sunday, but said: "It was very good. We have shown willingness to win. That is what the coach asked from us. He told us to be focused and I think we were.
"I want to improve my form.
Wes Brown says Manchester United teammate Rio Ferdinand will bounce back from missing out on the England captaincy.
Brown said: "Rio will be fine. He knew he had a good chance of being captain and then the gaffer (Capello) picked John Terry so we all just get on with it now.
Nemanja Vidic admits both he and Patrice Evra wanted to quit Manchester United just weeks into their Old Trafford careers.
"We speak about it quite often," said Vidic.
"Neither of us started well and we used to say we wanted to leave. We can laugh about it now because we have both reached 100 games.
Anderson is delighted Cristiano Ronaldo is staying with Manchester United.
"Having the best player in the world is always good for you," said Anderson. "Moreover, he is a great friend."
Anderson missed United's 1-1 draw with Newcastle as he is away with Brazil at the Beijing Olympics, but added: "I followed the match on the internet and spoke to my teammates via email.