United star out of US tour

Sir Alex Ferguson has confirmed that Namanja Vidic will miss Manchester United's summer tour of the USA but he could start the season.

The Red Devils' chief lifted the lid on the progress of his influential Serbian central defender and skipper, who has been ruled out since December when he suffered a serious cruciate knee ligament injury in the Champions League defeat at Basel. Vidic had previously suggested that he wanted to be back in training with the rest of United's first-team squad when pre-season gets underway in July. However, Ferguson has now revealed that, while Vidic is progressing well in his rehabilitation, he will not be fit enough to travel to the United States. But could still be available when the new Premier League campaign gets underway in mid-August. He told the club's website: "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."