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The knee injury Manchester United's Nemanja Vidic sustained in the club's loss to FC Basel in the UEFA Champions League means the defender will miss the rest of the season.
As if things weren't bad enough for Manchester United after going out of the UEFA Champions League with a loss to FC Basel, it got worse when news came in that Nemanja Vidic could miss up to four months with a knee injury suffered in the loss. The central defender went off on a stretcher in the 43rd minute of United's loss, the result of an awkward collision with Marco Streller. After the match, United manager Sir Alex Ferguson confirmed that Vidic had medial knee ligament damage, an injury that usually keeps players out for four months.
The injury occurred when Vidic and Strellar went up to win a ball in the air. When Strellar came down, he fell on Vidic's leg and Vidic immediately grabbed his knee. He was obvious in pain and he didn't even try to put pressure on it, instead being stretchered off and heading straight to the dressing room for evaluation.
United are going to have some real problems without Vidic, arguably the Premier League's best defender. Besides their going out in the Champions League, they've been less than convincing in league play as well so this is hardly a team on cruise control. Rio Ferdinand is always an injury doubt, making it likely that the Red Devils will have to play a lot of matches in the next four months without either of their first choice central defenders. Nobody is calling the situation at Old Trafford a "crisis" or close to it, but there has to be serious worry in the red half of Manchester that their club might see their title hopes extinguished before Vidic can even return.
Manchester United went one goal down early against FC Basel in their crucial UEFA Champions League match, and they're going to have to come back without their best central defender. Nemanja Vidic was carried off the pitch via a stretcher in the 43rd minute and instantly replaced by Johnny Evans.
The injury was caused in an innocent collision with striker and goal-scorer Marco Streller, who fell awkwardly on Vidic's leg after an aerial challenge. It was obvious almost instantly that Vidic would not be able to continue and that he would require assistance to get off the pitch. It wasn't clear exactly what Vidic's lower body injury was or the severity of the injury, but it was serious enough that he was not able to leave the pitch under his own power.
Check out Manchester United blog The Busby Babe for more on the Red Devils. We'll have coverage of all of the UEFA Champions League matches at SB Nation Soccer.
Nemanja Vidic Out For Rest Of Manchester United Season
Life is going from bad to worse for Manchester United. Not only have they crashed out of the Champions League, but in the process, the Red Devils have lost defender Nemanja Vidic for the rest of the season. The Serbian suffered knee ligament damage when fighting for the ball with Marco Streller of Basel. Watching replays of Vidic falling to the ground, you could almost see the rest of his season being erased: the twist of his knee, the look of abject pain on his face.
And now United have confirmed the suspicions -- the remainder of their season will be played without their captain, one of the strongest players in last year's title-winning side. The likes of Johnny Evans or Chris Smalling just won't compare.
Already five points adrift off rivals Manchester City, this injury -- combined with the ankle injury to Javier Hernandez and other assorted knocks lingering round United -- could be the death knell in their race for silverware.
Dec 09 9:31a by Kirsten Schlewitz - 0 comments