Fergie to Press: Ferdinand Will Probably Play Tuesday at Arsenal

So far this year, the defending European Champions Manchester United appear to have their sites toward Rome as they beat Arsenal at Old Trafford in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final, and they have a great chance to make it to the final in Rome.

However, it appeared that those dreams might not even happen as during last Wednesday's first leg against rival Arsenal, Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand got elbowed in the ribs by Arsenal's Nicolas Bendtner and had to be taken off the pitch at the ending of the game.

It appeared that even after United's 1-0 victory, they might have to play in the Emirates without Ferdinand, who is their captain and considered by some to be the best defender in the world.

However, Manchester got a huge break today as manager Sir Alex Ferguson reported that Ferdinand doesn't have any cracked ribs at all. According to Ferguson, Ferdinand will miss United's match at Riverside Stadium against Middlesbrough as a precaution, but he will start at the Emirates against Arsenal.

After the first match at Old Trafford, Ferdinand was assessed at a Salford hospital, as he underwent several tests to determine whether he had suffered a punctured lung. Ferguson told reporters that there is some bruising which caused a bit of coughing of blood when it happened but nothing has happened since so he should be ready to play on Tuesday.

This will be a huge boost to Manchester to have Rio Ferdinand on defense in the second leg. They only have a one goal lead on aggregate, and they will need a strong defense if they want to prevail to the final. Also, it was expected that if he had a cracked rib, he would miss the rest of the season in the Premier League, which would be a huge blow for United as they want to hold off rival Liverpool to win their third straight Premier League title.

With Rio Ferdinand back, Manchester United appear to have a considerable edge with him back in the lineup. Ferdinand was a huge reason why United lifted up the trophy that made them European Champions last year, and a repeat seems more likely with him back in the lineup. 

Finally, with a healthy Ferdinand during the match on Tuesday, United will have their healthy English defender back on their squad, which will help them possibly win their match at the Emirates.