Anderson returns to training
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Sir Alex Ferguson has a full squad to choose from for Sunday's game against Fulham - barring long-term absentees Rio Ferdinand and Owen Hargreaves - with the added bonus that Anderson has returned to football training.
"Everyone is fit from Monday night's game," the boss said. "Evra got a knock when he went down by the advertising boards, but I'm sure he'll be OK. The good news is that Anderson started football training yesterday. We're pleased with that."
However, the Reds are still waiting on the return of Rio Ferdinand. "I still think Rio won't be back until the end of September," added Sir Alex. "At the time Steve McNally, the club doctor, said September. We’re quite near the mark.
"It was a knee ligament injury. Not the cruciate, it was medial ligaments. It was a freak training ground accident at the World Cup. It was nothing to do with his back, which was a problem for him last season. But I think he should be back late September."
Sir Alex again has some tough decisions to make for his squad for Sunday's visit to Craven Cottage. Against Newcastle, the boss left out Michael Owen altogether, while Michael Carrick was on the bench.
"I had some difficulty picking the squad on Monday night because of game time the likes of Owen, Rooney, Valencia, Nani and Carrick have had," the boss explained. "They have not had the minutes they require to be anywhere near their peak match fitness. With a week’s training behind them now, I think they will be much better for Sunday."
The match sharpness for some of those players is having to be done on the job, rather than in pre-season work, so Sir Alex thinks by next month the Reds should be reaching peak ftness."Wayne Rooney had only had half an hour’s competitive play before Monday, Michael Owen the same. Michael Carrick hadn’t played much, Nani and Valencia both only had a couple of games behind them. That’s not a lot before you start your full programme at the start of the season," he said.
"Players like Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Jonny Evans and John O'Shea, and the other players on the tour, have played plenty of football. They’ve had games, so their fitness is not a problem."
The United boss expressed a desire for his strikers to be more clinical in front of goal. But he has been pleased by the recent performances of Dimitar Berbatov, while he is not concerned by the fact that Rooney has not scored in 13 matches for club and country, stretching back to March earlier this year when he struck against Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
"Strikers live by their goals," said the boss, himself a former marksman, of course. "When the goals don’t come, they wonder when they’re going to score next. When they’re scoring, they never think it’s going to end. That’s what it’s about being a striker.
"But Dimitar Berbatov got his game-time in America. He got the games he needed in pre-season, so his fitness is assured. There’s no problem with that. He was excellent on Monday. He could have scored three or four goals, but it was a very good performance."