FA PREMIER LEAGUE:A "FORTUNATE" Cristiano Ronaldo walked away unharmed from his badly damaged Ferrari after crashing the sports car into a roadside barrier in a tunnel near Manchester airport yesterday morning. The European footballer of the year joined his team-mates at training after being spoken to by police.
The accident occurred at 10.20am on the A538 Wilmslow Road as the 23-year-old Manchester United winger made his way to training at the club's Carrington complex. A police spokesman said that, given the damage to the car, it was "fortunate" that Ronaldo was not injured.
"We are trying to establish exactly what happened and I would appeal to anyone that may have witnessed the collision to contact police," he added.
Witnesses to the single-vehicle collision said Ronaldo got out of the car and stood beside the wreckage, apparently uninjured.
It was reported that the car had arrived in Britain only two days ago after being imported from Portugal.
A witness described how the front edge had been demolished after the car struck a metal hand-rail guarding an emergency exit door in the tunnel, while one of the front wheels had sheared off and could be seen 200 yards away from the scene.
"I got there just after the accident had happened and saw the state of the car," the witness said. "It is amazing he got out of it without a scratch."
Ronaldo's team-mate, Edwin van der Sar, was driving behind the Ballon d'Or winner in his Bentley as they travelled in convoy from their Cheshire homes.
United confirmed the incident had taken place and that the player was unhurt: "He was involved in an incident this morning. No other cars were involved. He's fine and is training as normal with the team this morning."
Rio Ferdinand has given United a boost ahead of Sunday's game against Chelsea at Old Trafford by telling Alex Ferguson he feels ready to return after missing almost a month of Premier League action.
Ferdinand has not played since the goalless draw at Tottenham Hotspur on December 13th, but came through a full training session yesterday with no apparent reaction to his back problems.
The nature of his injury means it is too early to be certain he will be available, but his progress has encouraged Ferguson to believe he should have his full-strength defence available again.
Patrice Evra is returning from his five-match domestic suspension and is expected to come straight back into the team at the expense of John O'Shea, while Ferdinand should take over from Jonny Evans in a defence that attracted strong criticism from Ferguson after Wednesday's 1-0 defeat to Derby County in the first leg of the English League Cup semi-final.
United have brought in a 20-year-old Belgian defender, Ritchie De Laet, from Stoke on a three-year deal after the clubs agreed a performance-related payment package. De Laet joined Stoke from Royal Antwerp, United's feeder club, in August 2007, but has not played a single first-team game, and spent the early part of this season on loan at Wrexham.
West Ham face the threat of further punishment over the Carlos Tevez affair after the Premier League and Football Association announced a fresh investigation.
West Ham were fined over €6 million in 2007 for breaching league rules over third-party agreements in signing Tevez, and the new inquiry will focus on the club's dealings with his representatives after the initial punishment.
It follows an arbitration tribunal that ruled in favour of Sheffield United, and pointed the finger at West Ham chief executive Scott Duxbury. The Blades have lodged a compensation claim of up to €50 million.
The new investigation will be conducted by both the FA and the Premier League. The key point to be investigated is the evidence provided to the tribunal by lawyer Graham Shear, solicitor for Tevez' agent, Kia Joorabchian.
Shear said that Duxbury had provided verbal assurances that the third-party agreement still existed, despite the West Ham chief having informed the Premier League that the deal had been terminated.
Arsene Wenger's defensive headaches have intensified ahead of the visit of Bolton to the Emirates tomorrow, and he must plan without William Gallas for up to three weeks as the former captain has suffered a hamstring injury. Coupled with Mikael Silvestre's three-week absence with a thigh problem, it would seem to rule out any chance of the disaffected Kolo Toure leaving during the transfer window.
Toure has recovered from a groin injury and will be fit to partner Johan Djourou in the centre of defence.
Wenger would have preferred to have partnered Gallas with the tall and athletic Djourou, especially against a forward line as big and physical as Bolton's Kevin Davies and Johan Elmander. The 6ft 4in Djourou has arguably become Wenger's first-choice centre-half and the Arsenal manager admitted last week that he thinks Toure and Gallas are too short to play together.
Wenger said Toure had handed in a transfer request which was rejected, but he dismissed reports that the relationship between the Ivorian and Gallas was irreparable.
Gallas's injury means the pair will not have to play together for a few weeks, but it must also have put paid to the 27-year-old's hopes of a transfer, as Wenger's only other possible cover at centre-half is the midfielder Alexandre Song.
