Surgery sidelines United's Neville
Friday, September 23, 2005
Article summary
Manchester United FC and England defender Gary Neville will be out of action for a further six weeks after undergoing surgery for a groin injury.
Article body
Training relapse
The 30-year-old right-back sustained the problem in the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round second leg at Debreceni VSC on 24 August, and has not played since. He was hoping to make his return in Saturday's English Premiership game against Blackburn Rovers FC but broke down in training on Thursday and has now opted for an operation, which also rules him out of England's remaining FIFA World Cup Group 6 qualifiers against Austria and Poland at the start of October.
'Big blow'
"It is a blow but we think it is the best course of action," said United manager Sir Alex Ferguson. "We feel it's better to get the situation sorted now and have him back for the rest of the season. Gary went in for an operation last night and his loss is a big blow for the lad and for us. The recovery time is a month and then it will take another two or three weeks to get his fitness back."
