‘I’ll be fit for final’, says Rio

Manchester United

RIO Ferdinand insists he will be fit for Manchester United's Champions League final with Barcelona in Rome next Wednesday.

Sir Alex Ferguson cast doubt on the defender's likely availability when he said Ferdinand would need to play at Hull on Sunday to stand any chance of being handed a starting slot against Barca.

However, the 30–year–old does not see an outing at the KC Stadium as essential to producing a top performance at the Stadio Olimpico, by which time it will have been three weeks since he injured a calf muscle in United's semi–final win over Arsenal.

In any case, Ferdinand fully expects to have recovered.

He said: "I've not thought about not playing in the final. It's as simple as that, no chance.

"I trained with the ball today and did some running, so I'm doing all the movements I need to be doing before a game.

"This has been perhaps the hardest and most important injury battle of my career. There is so much at stake.

"I haven't even thought much about the actual details of the final.

"I've been so engrossed in my injury that I haven't thought about much else. I'll start thinking about the match when I'm sitting on the plane to Rome."