Antonio Valencia underwent surgery on a fracture and dislocation of his left ankle on Wednesday, the start of the long road to recovery from the horrific injury he suffered against Rangers at Old Trafford.
But team-mate Darren Fletcher says Valencia has the character, determination and mental aptitude to overcome the injury and battle his way back to the standards he reached in an excellent debut campaign for the Reds.
"It was a really bad injury," admitted Fletcher, on the field when Gers defender Kirk Broadfoot's innocuous-looking challenge led to Antonio being stretchered off the field with an injury Sir Alex Ferguson likened to the leg-break Alan Smith suffered at Anfield in 2006.
Flecher added: "He’s a good lad and a strong character. Having just got back from injury at the end of last season, it’s a real blow for him. But he has real determination about him and he works hard. He’ll be back, I’m sure. He’s a top player. He’s been great since he came from Wigan.
"He had a great first season and he was looking to push on this year. That’s why the injury’s a blow. But he has a long future at United and I’m sure he’ll be back as soon as possible."
Valencia's injury capped what was a hugely frustrating night for the Reds all round. But Fletcher says Rangers deserve credit for their defensive organised and dogged resolution not to allow United to break them down.
"I don’t think many teams have played with three centre-halves before," he said. "I think that was the difference. Usually when you play against teams who get men behind the ball they have the extra man in midfield, but Rangers had it in defence and they proved difficult to break down."
