Nemanja Vidic has ruptured cruciate ligament, says agent

Nemanja Vidic's agent has said that the Manchester United captain has suffered a ruptured cruciate ligament in a potentially devastating blow to the club's chances of recovering from their Champions League elimination and catching Manchester City at the top of the Premier League. United have not commented about Silvano Martina's comments on an Italian website other than to say the club's manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, will reveal Vidic's condition at his weekly press briefing on Friday. Ferguson had initially said after the 2-1 defeat in Basel that demoted United into the Europa League that it looked like a medial-ligament injury, meaning a potential four-month lay-off, adding: "We hope that's the worst of it." A cruciate ligament injury would be far more serious, with the usual recovery period of around nine months meaning the 30-year-old Vidic would play no further part this season. Martina was speaking to calciomercato.com about recent reports in the Italian media that Juventus were considering a move for the now-retired Serbia international. "It seems inappropriate to talk about that because unfortunately he has suffered a ruptured cruciate ligament," he replied. Asked if that meant the defender was facing a long spell of rehabilitation, the agent said: "Unfortunately so, yes. So even if it was true [about Juventus], right now there would be no sense in talking about it." Vidic was taken off on a stretcher shortly after a challenge with Marco Streller and left the stadium on crutches. He had a scan on Thursday afternoon and, if the news is confirmed, it would represent a significant setback for United at a time when Rio Ferdinand's injury concerns have left him struggling to put together a run of games.