Initial examinations suggest Rio Ferdinand did not suffer major damage to his groin in Manchester United's FA Cup semi-final and may even play against Sheffield United tomorrow.

The England defender limped off during the first-half of Saturday's 4-1 win over Watford, adding to an injury list at Old Trafford that already includes fellow defenders Gary Neville, Nemanja Vidic, Mikael Silvestre and John O'Shea. Ferdinand said after the game that he was confident of returning for Saturday’s match against Middlesbrough, but he may even come back sooner.

O'Shea, who sat out Saturday's victory with a minor calf injury, could also be in contention to face Neil Warnock’s side who boosted their hopes of avoiding relegation with a 3-0 win over West Ham at the weekend.

If neither Ferdinand nor O'Shea make tomorrow's game, Sir Alex Ferguson is likely to play the back four that finished Saturday's semi-final, with Darren Fletcher at right back, Gabriel Heinze alongside Wes Brown in the centre and Patrice Evra on the left.

Craig Cathcart, the 18-year-old defender, may also play a part if Ferguson decides to take him from the club's youth side that face Liverpool in the FA Cup Youth Final first leg tonight.

Neil Warnock's side have their own injury problems ahead of their visit to Old Trafford with Claude Davis almost certainly out of contention with an ankle injury picked up during Saturday's game at Bramall Lane.

Jon Stead, who scored the third goal against the Hammers, also picked up a knock and may not figure against Sir Alex Ferguson's side.

Manchester United (from): Van der Sar, Kuszczak, O'Shea, Fletcher, Cathcart, Ferdinand, Brown, Heinze, Evra, Ronaldo, Carrick, Scholes, Giggs, Richardson, Rooney, Smith, Solskjaer, Dong.

Sheffield United (from): Kenny, Bromby, Davis, Morgan, Jagielka, Shelton, Stead, Hulse, Webber, A Quinn, Kozluk, Kilgallon, Montgomery, Tonge, Gillespie, Armstrong, Leigertwood, Lucketti, Fathi, Geary, Nade, S Quinn, Kazim-Richards, Bennett.

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