Manchester, England – Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand will not take part in his team's opening match at Everton on Monday, and could miss the next month because of a groin injury.
Ferdinand's absence comes at a time when United is already short on defenders with Chris Smalling, Phil Jones and Jonny Evans all missing for Monday's game.
Evans has missed the entire summer because of ankle surgery, while Smalling is expected to be out until October after he had an operation to repair a broken metatarsal.
Jones has been battling back spasms and he has been advised to rest for the next month.
Injury trouble is nothing new to Ferdinand, but the 33-year-old is coming off of a season in which he appeared in 30 Premiership matches for the Red Devils.
Nemanja Vidic is expected to take part in his first match for the club since a knee injury sidelined him for the rest of the season last December, while midfielder Michael Carrick could be called upon to partner Vidic in the middle of the back line on Monday.
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