Roy Keane could be out of action until the New Year, according to reports on Tuesday morning.
The Sun claims that the Manchester United captain has been told not to start full training again until next month following his hip injury.
Keane is making slow progress and United boss Sir Alex Ferguson admitted at the weekend that his skipper was “not as far forward” as they had originally hoped.
Ferguson originally had Keane pencilled in for a return on November 17 against Bayer Leverkusen but that date now seems very over-optimistic.
Keane is starting a five-match domestic ban this week but he would have been eligible to play in European games.
Ferguson said on Sunday: “He isn't as far forward as we thought he would be. He is still a few weeks away.
"There is a long remedial period with this type of injury and he had done a lot of hard work, so we decided to give him a break last week.
"He needed a break because sometimes he can push himself a bit hard but he is back doing some good work again."
But it now seems that Keane may not even be ready to take part in games over the festive period.
<a href="http://www.football365.com/All_News/Premiership_News/story_45994.shtml" target="_blank">Football365.com</a>
The Sun claims that the Manchester United captain has been told not to start full training again until next month following his hip injury.
Keane is making slow progress and United boss Sir Alex Ferguson admitted at the weekend that his skipper was “not as far forward” as they had originally hoped.
Ferguson originally had Keane pencilled in for a return on November 17 against Bayer Leverkusen but that date now seems very over-optimistic.
Keane is starting a five-match domestic ban this week but he would have been eligible to play in European games.
Ferguson said on Sunday: “He isn't as far forward as we thought he would be. He is still a few weeks away.
"There is a long remedial period with this type of injury and he had done a lot of hard work, so we decided to give him a break last week.
"He needed a break because sometimes he can push himself a bit hard but he is back doing some good work again."
But it now seems that Keane may not even be ready to take part in games over the festive period.
<a href="http://www.football365.com/All_News/Premiership_News/story_45994.shtml" target="_blank">Football365.com</a>
