Edwin van der Sar has played down fears that he has suffered a recurrence of a niggling groin injury.
United keeper insists he has suffered no fresh setback
Edwin van der Sar has played down fears that he has suffered a recurrence of a niggling groin injury.
The veteran Manchester United keeper appeared to suffer a twinge during Wednesday's 1-0 victory over Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League.
The 40-year-old was left out of United's Premier League trip to West Ham last weekend as a precaution, with Sir Alex Ferguson keen to save for him European duty.
It appeared as though a well-earned rest may not have even been enough at times against the Blues, with Tomasz Kuszczak told to warm-up on two occasions.
Van der Sar admits that he was suffering towards the end of the game, as tiredness told, but insists he was not struggling with injury.
"When I dived to save a shot from [Fernando] Torres, I went 105 per cent for my take-off," he said.
"My calf gave way a little bit and I ended up with cramp.
"I didn't train a lot in the last couple of weeks, so maybe it was a bit of tiredness or something."
Focus
Van der Sar pulled off a couple of smart stops to keep Chelsea at bay during a keenly-fought contest at Stamford Bridge.
He is refusing to buy into the belief, though, that he has helped United into the semi-finals of the Champions League, with the Red Devils still having to negotiate a return date with the Blues.
The veteran shot-stopper is also reluctant to look ahead to what could potentially lie in wait for United in Europe, with Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona still very much in the hunt for continental glory.
"We are not thinking about Real Madrid or Barcelona," added Van der Sar.
"We have a game against Fulham on Saturday. That is only two days away. Then we have Chelsea again. That is all we are looking at just now."
