By Pyc Fitness
©2004-2008
MANCHESTER United face an anxious wait to hear whether Nemanja Vidic will be fit for the game against Bolton at the Reebok after he picked up a back injury on international duty.
The big Serbian defender did not figure in his country's Euro 2008 qualifying draw with Poland on Wednesday night, and has flown home from Belgrade to be assessed by United's medical staff.
There had been some doubt over whether Vidic would stay with his national team or remain in Belgrade for the re-arranged Euro 2008 qualifier against Kazakhstan, a game which is now meaningless as Serbia cannot qualify.
The injury made the decision a formality, as Sir Alex Ferguson wanted the player back at United to fully assess the damage, and in the hope he would be fit for the trip to the Reebok.
Gerard Pique is on standby to step in for Vidic, and with Gary Neville getting close to fitness and Danny Simpson proving himself an adequate right back, Wes Brown is another player who could partner Rio Ferdinand at the heart of the United defence.
The Reds have problems further forward as well, with Carlos Tevez remaining a doubt.
He only arrived back in Manchester today after a wearisome trip to South America for two World Cup qualifying games with Argentina.
Warning
He also arrives with a warning ringing in his ears from Colombian defender Ruben Bustos - the man whose wind-ups caused Tevez to kick out at him and get himself a red card during the 2-1 defeat in Bogota on Wednesday.
Bustos says that the way to beat Tevez is to verbally unsettle him - something of which Bolton defenders will, no doubt, take notice in the run-up to tomorrow's game.
"I know what Tevez is like," he said.
"I provoked him. He kicked me and was sent off. I knew it would make him lose concentration and when that happens he loses control."
United's fitness staff will also assess Tevez today after his long-haul flight back from South America, and if he is unfit, as seems likely after declaring himself "exhausted" in midweek, Louis Saha is set to stand in.
Tevez's journey home to play for his country was always going to pose problems, with the first game being against Bolivia in 80-degree heat in Buenos Aires and the second 8,000 feet up in the Andes against Colombia.
Tevez inadvertently eased some of the problem by getting a red card against Colombia after 25 minutes.
That dismissal will also mean a two-match international ban, good news for the Reds as it means Tevez will get an extended rest next summer, as he will miss the next round of qualifiers, at home to Ecuador and away to Brazil, in June.