Manchester United Team News update: Jonny Evans to miss Spurs match

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has just concluded his weekly press conference and during it, the main piece of news that he delivered is that Jonny Evans will miss Sunday's match against Tottenham Hotspur.

"We've got a strong squad. Jonny Evans still isn't available. He's not 100%. Other than that, we're not too bad. We got a lot of players a game on Wednesday [versus West Ham United] and I thought they did well. It was a good performance."

- Ferguson | Source: ManUtd.com

The Northern Irish defender was a surprise omission from last Sunday's match with Liverpool and the reason indicated was that he picked up a knock on his hamstring the day prior -- possibly in training. Nemanja Vidic and Ashley Young were substituted off at the weekend because of injury -- a concussion and a knock on the knee, respectively -- and their status is uncertain for the upcoming visit to White Hart Lane. If Vidic is out as well, then expect two of either Rio Ferdinand, Chris Smalling, or Phil Jones to be deployed as the central-defenders against Spurs. If Young is out, then anticipate Antonio Valencia to be the right-winger on Sunday while any of Shinji Kagawa, Ryan Giggs, Nani, or Danny Welbeck could be options out wide to the left.

Darren Fletcher is also unavailable due to season-ending bowel surgery. The manager had this to say about the Scotsman's unfortunate condition:

"It was something we thought would happen anyway. He tried his best to cope with the condition with the treatments he was using but, in the last couple of weeks, it's come back. This operation will hopefully solve the situation and we expect him to be back in July. It's a blow for the boy but given he's been dealing with the condition for a few years, it's just another step for him. He has fantastic character, he's a brilliant boy. He'll do his best, no doubt about that. He always does."

- Ferguson

Perhaps the most positive takeaway is that surgery appears to be a procedure to resolve the problem and not merely one to just relieve the symptoms. Hopefully this brings about a permanent solution to Fletch's difficulties in dealing with his Ulcerative Colitis. Get well soon.