Van der Sar return boosts Man Utd

Last updated : 15 January 2010 By Footymad Previewer

Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar could make his first-team return against Burnley on Saturday.Van der Sar, 39, has not played since injuring a knee in November, an absence extended by the fact that his wife Annemarie van Kesteren has been ill.

Van Kesteren, 36, suffered a brain haemorrhage, but she has now recovered and Van der Sar spent this week in Qatar with his team-mates training.

"It is great to see Edwin back," said United manager Sir Alex Ferguson.

"Edwin has come back to training and has done very well. He will give us so much experience when he eventually does come back, which is important to us.

"It depends how Edwin feels [as to whether he will play], but he has been training very well."

Ferguson also revealed that long-term injury absentees Rio Ferdinand and Owen Hargreaves made good progress in Qatar, while striker Dimitar Berbatov is hoping to go without surgery on a knee injury until the end of the season.

"We took Rio and Owen with us and they took part in some of the work we were doing," said Ferguson.

"Again, there's some light at the end of the tunnel there, particularly Rio, who is making good progress now. He won't start on Saturday, but he isn't far away, which is good news for us.

"That is the important issue for us - getting solid defenders back into the team. We need to get our consistency back.

"As for Dimitar, he doesn't want an operation. Sometimes he feels the injury, other times he doesn't.

"It might have been the warmer climes but he didn't feel it at all while we were in Qatar. We are just keeping an eye on it at present."

Source: BBC Sport

Source: BBC Sport