Sir Alex Ferguson has suggested injured winger Antonio Valenica could return to action by the end of February despite initial fears he could miss the rest of the season.
The Ecuadorian winger sustained a broken ankle after a challenge from Rangers defender Kirk Broadfoot in United’s midweek Champions League Group C game.
It was initially feared Valencia would be forced to miss the remainder of the campaign, however tests have since shown the damage to not be as serious as first feared.
Valencia underwent surgery which involved putting the midfielder’s ankle back into place following the fracture and dislocation on Wednesday night.
“You can never be 100% accurate in these situations and it is a bad injury, but we are looking at the end of February, which is better than we thought on Tuesday,” Ferguson explained.
“The operation has been successful and the break was clean, which was the major concern for us at the time,” he added.
“He is a strong boy, who is very positive about it. Being positive helps you in these situations, so we are very hopeful we will get him back then.”