Ferdinand and Barthez miss CL qualifier

Manchester United will be without record signing Rio Ferdinand and French goalkeeper Fabien Barthez for Wednesday's Champions…

Manchester United will be without record signing Rio Ferdinand and French goalkeeper Fabien Barthez for Wednesday's Champions League qualifier with Zalaegerszegi in Budapest, according to SkySports.

Ferdinand suffered an ankle injury in the friendly win over Boca Juniors at Old Trafford on Saturday; Barthez has been struggling with a hip problem picked up on United's pre-season tour to Amsterdam.

Irish international John O'Shea is the likely replacement for Ferdinand, and Roy Carroll should carry on as stand-in for Barthez.

United manager Alex Ferguson urged his players not to take the Hungarians lightly as the squad left Manchester airport on this morning.

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"It is a round we didn't really want to be playing in, but we are here now and we have to be focused," he said. "We have seen them a couple of times on tape, but the most important thing is we play to our potential.

"You can play sides of any standard, but if you don't play well they're all capable of beating you".

AFP