Nemanja Vidic will miss Manchester United's summer tour

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed that captain Nemanja Vidic will miss the club's pre-season tour this summer -- one that is suspected to be in Asia this summer despite no official confirmation yet. The steely defender sustained a a cruciate injury versus FC Basel in the autumn and he has been out ever since. The injury is obviously quite serious but the hope has always been that with modern medicine, that he could return in time for next season's beginning. However, it sounds as if the hope now is that he can return at some point during next season's campaign so that he can be meaningful contributor. Here is what Fergie had to say about Vida:

"Vida won’t be ready for going on the tour but hopefully he’ll be ready for the start of the season. We sent him to a complex in Spain last week and he enjoyed it. It gave him a break mentally as it’s not easy. He’s been the only one in the gymnasium in the last couple of months or so as we’ve been reasonably injury-free. He’s not running, he’s just been in the gym. The manager is a little concerned about the situation at the heart of the defence with Jonny Evans facing surgery, Chris Smalling picking up an injury and Phil Jones potentially missing out on some rest if he is called into the England squad for Euro 2012. Vidic only played six games in the league and is coming back from a cruciate injury. Smalling and Jones are young players and, if they don’t get a summer’s rest, I can definitely see problems like we’ve had with Chicharito. It’s been a nightmare for him - three summers in a row playing for Mexico. He needs a rest, the boy, and it’s the same with Smalling and Jones. They played in the Under-21 tournament last summer and have not had any real Premier League experience. Smalling was playing non-league football two years ago and Jones was in Blackburn Rovers’ youth team. So they need a break this summer. We’ll assess the situation with Smalling anyway but he does have this injury and, whether he needs an operation or not, he will miss the Euros."

- Ferguson | Source: ManUtd.com

Despite our quality of depth at center-back, Fergie seems a bit concerned. Evans was a surprise inclusion yesterday versus Sunderland because he's apparently going to have surgery this summer. Smalling's groin injury is serious enough to keep him out of contention for England's squad during Euro 2012 and Rio Ferdinand's chronic back problem is a constant concern. In addition, Jones has had an impressive debut season at United but he's been prone to mistakes when deployed at center-back. Furthermore, his form has dipped in this season's latter half and that may be attributable to his 40+ appearances -- and it's very possible that he's included in the England squad this week when Roy Hodgson names his side. It'll be interesting to see how Fergie addresses his center-back situation this summer -- will the transfer market play a part?