Manchester United will be without defender Rio Ferdinand for their Champions League clash with Bursaspor on Tuesday night.
Ferdinand played the full 90 minutes of United’s weekend victory over Tottenham and it is thought he has been spared the four-hour flight due to fears it may aggravate his long-standing back problems.
Victory at Bursaspor could go a long way to securing United’s place in the knockout stages of the Champions League but manager Sir Alex Ferguson is confident his Group C leaders can get a result without the England captain.
Federico Macheda, Chris Evans, Anderson plus long-term victims Wayne Rooney, Ryan Giggs and Michael Owen were also missing from United’s 20-man squad.