Skip over video

The Manchester United central defence injury curse has struck again, with Nemanja Vidic joining Chris Smalling and Phil Jones on the sidelines for the next eight weeks because of a knee problem. With only Jonny Evans, just back from injury himself, and Rio Ferdinand, a regular sufferer of back problems, available, manager Sir Alex Ferguson may have to get creative at the back. But will this derail United’s impressive start to the season? The Life’s a Pitch team are undecided.

“They can cope,” starts the People’s Tom Hopkinson on Man Utd. “They’ve got two very capable centre-halves. We’re talking about Rio Ferdinand being one of the most in-form central defenders in the country at the moment. His injury problems have caused him some troubles in the past few seasons, but he’s doing alright at the moment. I think he’ll be fine. They’ve also got Michael Carrick to bring in as a fairly able deputy if it really does hit the skids, but the two players they’ve got are certainly capable of winning any game for them.”

Tom’s colleague at the People, Janine Self, isn’t so sure. “I think Man Utd are worried. I would have thought that Sir Alex Ferguson is already looking ahead and thinking [about] Rio and his back [problems]. Yes, he is playing well, but I think his back could go at any time. Jonny Evans has had injury problems and is still coming back to fitness. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Sir Alex is looking to bring in yet another central defender, certainly next summer, maybe even in January, because Vidic and Ferdinand are on their last legs, professionally speaking.”

One player set to return to action further up the field is Wayne Rooney. And the Guardian’s Dominic Fifield is looking forward to seeing him team up with Robin van Persie. “It’s important because they need to integrate him and Van Persie into the same team. They need to get some games with those two so that they can strike up an understanding together on the pitch. I’m intrigued to see how that works as a pairing. Presumably Rooney just plays off Van Persie. But where does that leave [Shinji] Kagawa? Kagawa has done so well since he’s been there.”

Watch the full video discussion by clicking on the play button in the image above. 

Related articles:

Order a copy of the Life’s A Pitch anthology

Video: Liverpool track Tello, Ogbonna to Man Utd, Leeds eye Jones?

Video: Oliveira to United, City or Chelsea, Gordon to Saints?

Musa Okwonga: Nani finds himself in limbo at Old Trafford 

Video: “Ferguson trying to recreate his great teams with four strikers”

Video: “Van Persie must feel like a million dollars”

Follow Life’s A Pitch on Twitter @BTLifesaPitch

Watch Man Utd live on BT Vision:
Man Utd v Newcastle, 7.30pm, 26 September, Sky Sports 2
Man Utd v Tottenham, 4.30pm, 29 September, ESPN

Don’t have BT Vision? Find out how to get it