Manchester United suffer double injury blow ahead of Chelsea clash

Manchester United have been left reeling from a double injury blow to defender Rio Ferdinand and midfielder Darren Fletcher ahead of Sunday's trip to Chelsea.

It has emerged that Ferdinand's continued absence is actually down to his long-standing back problem, rather than a calf injury as claimed by Sir Alex Ferguson.

And Fletcher, described this week by Fergie as one of United's most influential players, revealed he will need an operation to address an ongoing ankle problem.

The full extent of Ferdinand's back problem was revealed by United defender Wes Brown, who suggested the 30-year-old could be sidelined for a considerable period of time.

"Rio's been injured for a very long time and he's been getting a lot of pain in his back," said Brown.

"I'm not sure how many months it's been going on but he's come to the stage where he's sorting it out now.

"When he comes back I'm sure he'll be a lot stronger. But if you're not fully fit and you try to play it's very hard.

"Believe me, I know, especially because of how fast the Premier League is now. If you carry on playing with the same injury, week-in, week-out, it makes things even harder. That's what's happened and Rio's decided to sort it out."

Although Fletcher will play against Chelsea after returning from injury in Tuesday's 3-3 draw with CSKA Moscow, he revealed he will need to undergo surgery at some stage.

"I injured my ankle in the Sunderland game," said Fletcher. "A bit of bone has broken off the back of my ankle and stuck about an inch.

"So every time I bend it's causing a bit of pain. I've had an injection to clear it up for a while.

"Eventually it's going to need to be cleaned out. I have had it for a couple of years now and the build-up of whatever has been constantly aggravating it.

"There's been a build-up of fluid as well and other medical things that the doctors know more about.

"I'll have to get something done but the injections will see me through a few months. It should be okay until the end of the season.

"That is the plan - to get me through to the summer and then do something about it.

"Striking a ball or bending the ankle does hurt. It got to the point where it was too sore to train and play, so something had to be done and I had the injection."

United also have injury concerns over Dimitar Berbatov, Ryan Giggs and Nemanja Vidic ahead of their top-of-the-table clash with Chelsea.