Knee rules Vidic out for season

Sir Alex Ferguson has confirmed that Manchester United captain Nemanja Vidic will miss the remainder of the season with a knee injury. Vidic suffered the injury during the first half of United's UEFA Champions League defeat by Basel on Wednesday, and his agent said last night the defender had ruptured his cruciate ligament. "Nemanja is out for the season," confirmed Ferguson this morning. "It is bad news. He will be a loss." Ferguson admitted he feared the worst when Vidic first went down following a tangle of legs with Marco Streller. He hoped it was just medial ligament damage and his captain would only be missing for a couple of weeks. Unfortunately, the worst case has now unfolded. "I thought it was a bad one when I saw it," said Ferguson. "He sees the specialist on Monday to map out the progress of when he has the operation. It won't be immediate because we have to let the swelling come down. It is a bit of a blow."