Manchester United breathed a huge sigh of relief as a scan on defender Rio Ferdinand revealed that his left foot is not broken.  Ferdinand left Middlesbrough on Sunday with his foot in a protective boot but the club said he did not suffer a break.  With huge games upcoming for United in the next few weeks they will need a healthy Ferdinand. 

Manchester United plays AS Roma on Wednesday in the Soccer Betting Champions League quarterfinals but they already have a 2-0 lead and are in good shape to advance.  They will definitely want Ferdinand back this month though as they have key Premier League matches against Arsenal and Chelsea.  United was able to get excellent play out of 21-year-old Pique as a replacement for Ferdinand against Middlesbrough but they can’t always assume that will be the case. “Pique came on and did brilliantly. He was marvelous.” Manager Alex Ferguson said, “The lad’s a terrific player and I think that actually helped us. We’ve got great confidence in the lad and he’s come through very well.”  United is already missing defender Nemanja Vidic, who has been out for three weeks with a knee injury.  Goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar said that missing Vidic has hurt recently. “Of course we miss him, he is a very important player for us.” Van der Sar said, “It is no coincidence that with Vidic absent we had some problems but the players who came in did okay.” United should have little trouble with a Roma team they beat 2-0 on the road last week even without Vidic and Ferdinand in the lineup.

In other injury news, Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech will be out for two weeks after colliding with a teammate. It was expected that Cech would return this week from an ankle injury but manager Avram Grant said that will not happen. “He will be out for about two weeks. He has been unlucky with injuries this year. But this is football, these things happen.”

Also, Arsenal midfielder Tomas Rosicky will probably miss the rest of the season with a knee injury.  He has been out since January after injuring his knee against Newcastle United in the FA Cup.  Arsenal does not want to risk his return, especially when their chances of winning the Premier League title are slim.  They want him ready for Euro 2008.