21/11/2011 11:22, Report by Adam Marshall
Darren Fletcher admits fellow midfielder Tom Cleverley will be missed by Manchester United as he recovers from an ankle ligament injury.
Sir Alex Ferguson ruled the England squad member out of action until Christmas after he suffered a recurrence of the problem during the win at Everton. However, Fletcher is convinced Cleverley will return to play a key role this term.
"It is disappointing," conceded the Scot. "Tom will be very disappointed personally, as we are as a team. He had been performing so well and had a great start to the season. The important thing now is that he gets the injury right. It is one of those niggly ones. He came back and had a recurrence.
"The best thing for him to do is get himself right. He will be an important player for the remainder of the season and hopefully the push for silverware. He is thought very highly of and rightly so because of his performances. People say he is still young but he has had a lot of experience. He was in the [Barclays] Premier League with Wigan last year and had a loan spell at Watford.
"He did fantastically well at both clubs. We are delighted to have him back from Wigan. He is an important part of our squad now and has fought his way into the team with some great performances this season."
Fletcher will be hoping to start against Benfica in the Champions League on Tuesday and realises that it's important for the Reds to win Group C.
"You do want to finish top," he asserted. "First and foremost, you look to qualify for the knockout stages. But you want to finish top, for the last-16 draw and for other perks like playing the second leg at home.
"We saw Arsenal finish second in their group last season and end up being drawn against Barcelona. Although people say you have to beat these teams if you want to win it, it is good to avoid them until later in the competition.
"The threat in this season's Champions League is from the usual places. The other teams in England, plus Real Madrid and Barcelona, while Bayern Munich have been mightily impressive and the Italian teams have great experience. Competition in the knockout stages is very fierce. There are no easy games and a lot of teams will be thinking they can go on and win it."
Fletcher was speaking to ManUtd.com, PA Sport, BBC Radio Manchester and Key 103.
source : Manutd
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