SOCCER: Late on Saturday night Michael Carrick, hopping around on crutches, levered himself on to the raised dais positioned in the middle of the Amsterdam Arena. Once on it, and only after an alarming wobble, Manchester United's new midfielder collected a medal before giving his manager another anxious moment as he swung his £18.6 million frame down off the stage.
United had just won the pre-season Amsterdam Tournament but victory can rarely have felt so hollow for Alex Ferguson. Sometimes, even for him, triumph carries too high a price and the outsize trophy United carried back to Manchester in the early hours of yesterday morning will mean little in the wake of two traumatic days in the Netherlands.
Rio Ferdinand also suffered an ankle injury - which, like Carrick's, will be scanned today - and Wayne Rooney and Paul Scholes were shown straight red cards in Friday's 3-1 win against Porto.
Although the English Football Association's desire to maintain harmonious relations with United dictates Rooney, at least, is likely to escape a three-match suspension at the start of the season, Carrick is not expected to see any action until September. Indeed the ligament damage to the former Spurs midfielder's sprained ankle - incurred when Ajax's Kenneth Perez seemed to rake his studs over that joint during United's 1-0 victory on Saturday - has hit Ferguson's hopes of making a strong start to the campaign.
"Losing Michael is a setback," admitted Ryan Giggs who, playing as an emergency striker, scored the winner against Ajax and, given Ferguson's casualty list, may even find himself temporarily shifted to the old Roy Keane role.
The FA may soon be obliging his manager after its Dutch equivalent said it intended to send the referee's report from Friday night to Soho Square, thereby requiring the FA to implement the disciplinary process mandatory in such circumstances.
Ordinarily that would mean imposing three-match domestic suspensions on Rooney and Scholes but the FA is keen to establish cordial relations with Ferguson and it is understood, if United appeal against the red cards, a lenient response can be anticipated. Indeed, insiders indicate Rooney's card, awarded after he caught an opponent in the face while challenging for a high ball, will almost certainly be downgraded to a yellow.
Scholes, booked before seeing straight red for a shocking challenge from behind, will hope his red might also be reduced to a yellow on appeal, thereby prompting a mere one-game ban for his second yellow card of the game. That, though, might smack of a whitewash.
With Ruud van Nistelrooy departed, United could certainly do with Scholes's finishing prowess. Despite the return of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after career-threatening knee trouble, United look decidedly lightweight up front. Refusing to panic, Giggs said: "Obviously Ruud scored a lot of goals but, when we've been successful, everyone's contributed to scoring, we've not just relied on one person. That has to happen this year."
Nevertheless Ferguson was yesterday linked with a move for Carlos Tevez, the talented Argentinian striker who is keen to leave the Brazilian club Corinthians, but United's manager could do worse than consider recruiting Obafemi Martins.
The Internazionale forward scored twice against Porto on Saturday when his two-footed skills and electrifying change of pace suggested the Nigerian should be well suited to the Premiership. Ditto Jonathan Evans, an 18-year-old United youth centre half who flew out late as Ferdinand's replacement and whose authoritative performance against Ajax was arguably the weekend's highlight. Maybe, just maybe, there was a silver lining for Ferguson in cloudy Amsterdam after all.
