Rio Ferdinand Injury: Updates on Man United Defender's Knee and Return

Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand left the club's Round 3 FA Cup match against Swansea City at Old Trafford on Sunday, Jan. 5, with a knee injury.    

Updates from Sunday, Jan. 19

Ferdinand remains unavailable to play for Manchester United, the club confirmed:

Updates from Tuesday, Jan. 7

According to a report from Mirror Football, Ferdinand will miss up to 2 weeks with his knee knock:

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Rio Ferdinand has been ruled out for up to two weeks with a knee injury suffered in Manchester United's FA Cup defeat to Swansea.

Ferdinand sustained the injury in a second-half clash with Wilfried Bony - scorer of Swansea's late winner at Old Trafford - that saw the former England international limp off.

But a scan on the injured knee has revealed Ferdinand did not suffer ligament damage, as first feared, only bad bruising.

Ferdinand is expected to be out for between 10 days and a fortnight, which means the defender, 35, could miss United's Premier League trip to Chelsea on January 19.

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BBC Sport reported on the ominous development for the Red Devils:

United have been anticipating the 35-year-old veteran Ferdinand's return to the lineup at centre-back after manager David Moyes held him out for the previous six games, per the Daily Mirror's David McDonnell.

Unfortunately, this injury setback does nothing to discourage the notion that Ferdinand is running out of steam in the twilight of his playing career.

Moyes insisted that Ferdinand was part of United's plans for the future despite holding him out since Dec. 10 before Sunday's fixture, per Sky Sports on Jan. 2:

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Rio has had a few injuries and little niggles in his calf. But, overall, he is very much part of it. Rio and Vida [Nemanja Vidic] have been two of the best centre-backs in this Premier League generation. For the past 10 years, they've been terrific. I will continue using them but there are always going to be other people to come in. This club has to have a line of players ready to take their places and push them.

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This has been a roller-coaster season in Moyes' first year as successor to Sir Alex Ferguson, but the Red Devils are playing better as of late in ascending to seventh in the English Premier League standings.

That is a far cry from the stature United had last season in winning the EPL trophy, though—the sixth for Ferdinand since he joined the club in 2002.

While losing Ferdinand won't be as significant of a blow to the Red Devils as it once was, he still brings invaluable defensive experience that can benefit the transitioning club.