United defender Vidic to miss two months after knee surgery

Manchester, England, United Kingdom (4E Sports) – Manchester United captain Nemanja Vidic will miss two months of action after undergoing right knee surgery, inflicting another blow to the team’s depleted defensive group.

United manager Sir Alex Ferguson did not play Vidic in the team’s 2-1 victory over Liverpool after complaining of tightness in his knee. Further examination revealed severe problems in the defender’s knee, prompting the surgery.

“Sir Alex, as a precautionary measure, rested Vidic at the weekend, after he complained of tightness in his knee, however, further medical investigation revealed the underlying problem,” the team announced on its official website.

“The central defender was operated on this week and will be sidelined for about eight weeks,” the team added.

The 30-year-old Vidic will miss several key matches, including United’s showdown with rivals Chelsea and Arsenal.

Vidic missed the final five months of last season with a ruptured cruciate knee ligament he sustained during a United’s Champions League clash at Basel last December.

Vidic joined United from Spartak Moscow in 2006 and has scored 17 goals in 246 appearances for the Old Trafford club.

Losing Vidic was a serious blow to United’s defense, which was already missing center-backs Chris Smalling and Phil Jones.

Smalling was sidelined for 10 weeks since July with a broken metatarsal and Jones for eight weeks in early September with a knee problem.

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