Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has lost his battle with a back problem and will be sidelined for up to six weeks.

Ferdinand will sit out Sunday’s Premier League showdown at Stamford Bridge and Red Devils team-mate Wes Brown admitted that the 30-year-old has tried to play through the pain for months.

Brown said: “He’s been getting a lot of pain for a long time so he’s sorting it out now.”

The England international has come under fire recently for numerous poor performances.

Brown added: “When he comes back he’ll be a lot stronger.

“If you’re not fit and want to play it’s very hard. Believe me.”

Mark Hughes has declared that Shay Given is the best keeper in the Premier League ahead of Man City’s clash against Birmingham.

Hughes said that Given was right up there with some legends of the game, and was adamant that the Irishman was as good as advertised.

“I played in front of Peter Schmeichel and Neville Southall during my career as a player and I can’t emphasise enough the huge level of comfort you get from having them there,” Hughes told the Mirror.

“Now, having worked with Shay Given over the past 10 months, I would put him right up there alongside the very best ‘keepers I have seen.

“He’s got the experience of hundreds of games in the Premier League, he knows how to marshal his defence, and his presence behind the back four is immense.

“That’s the kind of goalkeeper I wanted for this club - and Shay hasn’t disappointed on any level.

“He has to be up there as the best ‘keeper in the League - if not the best. That’s because he’s got everything. Some ‘keepers are good shot-stoppers or good with crosses. Some ‘keepers can use their feet better than others.”

Given’s move to the City of Manchester Stadium ended the reign of previous Number One, Joe Hart, who has been loaned out to Birmingham.

However, Hughes insists that Hart is in his long-term plans and the loan move was to ensure that the youngster would have a chance to play first-team football.

He said: “Joe Hart is still our player, of course, and we still have a huge regard for his ability. But there have been too many examples when goalkeepers have shone at the start of their careers and then faded.

“They get damaged because they have been in the first team too long too early in their career and haven’t been able to recover when things have gone wrong.

“We didn’t want that to happen to Joe. We still have huge hopes that he will be a top goalkeeper for Manchester City in years to come.

“We were at the stage when we needed an experienced goalkeeper. That’s why I signed Shay Given.”

Hughes also refuted suggestions that the Sky Blues were inadequate in defence, a trait that has resulted in three consecutive draws in the league.

“Defensively we are doing OK,” he insisted. “There’s been suggestions that we are a little bit fallible at set-pieces, but you could direct that criticism at any team in the top six - just look at Chelsea at Villa.”

Javier Mascherano has urged Liverpool to go on a winning streak to build on their 2-0 victory over Manchester United.

Mascherano feels that this win will be wasted if the Reds lose their next game.

Fernando Torres and David Ngog both scored for Liverpool to grab a 2-0 win at Anfield, with Mascherano bossing the midfield.

The Argentine enforcer was key in the midfield, breaking up United’s forays into Liverpool’s half, before being sent off for a second yellow card, and he know just how important this win is.

Liverpool were on a four-game losing streak in all competitions going into the game, but the victory over United has broken the run and has raised expectations that the Reds are back in the BPL title race.

Mascherano hopes that this win can propel Rafa Benitez’s men up the table, adding: “It was difficult for us to lose four games in a row.

“But now I say, ‘let’s start again’. Now we have won we cannot stop, and (we will) try to keep going. We are pulling together.

“If we want to fight for something we have to play every game like that. We cannot be relaxed with this win, that is the message.”

Liverpool may just trail Chelsea by a mere six points, but Mascherano insists that he is taking it a game at a time.

“We need to think about continuing winning, not to look at the table and seeing we are six points behind Chelsea,” he said. “We have to look forward and not drop important points in the future.

“If we want these three points (against United) to be valuable we have to show this performance in the future.

“Maybe people thought we couldn’t play as we can against the top sides, but we showed we can and we are really happy.”

Liverpool managing director Christian Purslow insists Rafael Benitez’s job is safe even if the Reds do not win the Premier League this season.

He also says Anfield stars Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard are not for sale at any price.

Purslow launched his support of Benitez as Liverpool attempted to arrest a run of four successive defeats against Manchester United this afternoon.

He said: “The most important aspect of the football club I was involved in in my first week in the job was securing Rafa for another five years. You only have to look at the Premiership era and our two major competitors in the last 10 to 12 years to see the benefits of longevity.

“Liverpool Football Club is on a long-term journey and that journey is to be the most successful club, firstly in our country and secondly in the world and you don’t do that by worrying about short-term results. You do that by having long-term plans centring on the people and the strategy. Rafa Benitez is absolutely central to that plan.

“The core of the team which won 86 points last season remains intact with some excellent additions so I have every reason to believe we can perform at that level this season over the season.”

To the direct question of whether he would guarantee Benitez’s position was safe even if the club did not win the league he said: “Yes I would.”

Purslow, who was speaking on BBC Radio Five Live’s Sportsweek programme, also insisted Spanish striker Torres had no clauses in his contract which allowed him to leave Anfield if they did not qualify for the Champions League.

He said: “Fernando signed an extension to his contract this summer. He has a five-year contract. He is a crucial leader in our team. He loves Liverpool Football Club. He has been fantastic around the place. Fernando Torres and Liverpool Football Club go together and I believe they will go together for the length of his career.”

To the question that he was not for sale at any price, Purslow replied: “Correct.”

The same, he insisted, went for Gerrard, while he said Argentina midfielder Javier Mascherano, whose future has been the subject of speculation, was also happy at the club.

Purslow said: “He is the leading central holding player in world football. It is inevitable that big clubs will covet players of that quality.

“We also had another central midfielder (Xabi Alonso) coveted by a world team in the summer who left us.

“We sat down with Javier at the time and he reasserted his total commitment to Liverpool. He has had a lot going on with the Argentina (World Cup) qualification situation which is now behind him. He is a hugely important player for us. He is a leader and this week in the aftermath of Lyon he has been a powerful figure.”

Purslow also revealed Liverpool were four weeks into a process of raising new equity in the club which could take six months.

He insisted, however, that it did not mean controversial American owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett were prepared to sell.

Purslow said: “There has been a huge amount of interest in the club from some extremely wealthy and expert investors but it will take three to six months to pull that together.

“It means there will be new investment into the football club. Mr Hicks and Mr Gillett have no plans to sell their shares. We will be issuing new equity to new investors, broadening our ownership.”

Mark Hughes has urged Aston Villa fans to welcome Gareth Barry rather than jeer their former captain when he returns to Villa Park.

Barry infuriated Villa fans after moving to Eastlands for £12 million in the offseason after claiming that he would only move to another club that was playing in the Champions League.

Man City are not in any European competition this season, but Barry is adamant that he is now locked in to  being part of City’s vision for long-term success.

Although Hughes is sure that Barry will get the boos at Villa Park, he asked for the supporters to thank the England regular being a loyal servant of the club for a decade.

“I hope Gareth doesn’t get a bad reception,” said Hughes, according to The Daily Mirror. “The service he gave to Aston Villa was exemplary.

“Maybe, instead of trying to take issue with players, fans should thank them for what they did for the club while they were there and acknowledge that more readily.

“Unfortunately that very rarely happens these days. As a player you want good relations with the clubs you played for.

“It’s always preferable to go back to an old club and have people regard you with affection and respect.

“People should accept what Gareth did in terms of his career there. But unfortunately sometimes the small minority have the loudest voices.

“On reflection I think people will understand now why Gareth wanted to make the move here.

“A year before he said he wanted to play in the Champions League. We didn’t have that to offer but we had other things to show him this was the right place for him.

“Villa have real hopes themselves of a top-four finish and went close last year, but I think people can see we may well be in a position to challenge as well.

“From Gareth’s point of view I think he was happy with the decision he made, but it wasn’t an easy decision.

“We gave him an idea of the hopes, we’ve been able to keep the promises we made, for the most part.

“When you’re trying to bring a player to a club, all managers talk about their ambitions for the future. But we’d like to think we can fulfil those ambitions.”

Hughes also shot down suggestions that Barry joined Man City purely for the many.

“People make their own decisions on why players have come here,” said Hughes.

“Whenever a player moves there’s always a financial side involved, but that’s not why players are coming here.

“They’re coming here because they can see what we’re trying to do.”

Former City captain Richard Dunne will also be facing his old club for the first time since departing from Eastlands.

The Irish defender claims that he was driven out of the club by Hughes and was reluctant to leave. The City boss has rubbished the claim, saying that the decision to leave was entirely Dunne’s.

“If Richard wanted to stay he could have stayed by not signing for Villa,” said Hughes.

“Nobody put the pen in his hand. He gave us great service through some difficult times with the club.

“We could have been selfish and kept him here. At the moment we’re in a position where we can’t afford to lose another centre-half to injury.

“I could have protected myself by making sure he stayed, but I couldn’t guarantee him first-team football.

“Out of deference to him and for what he did for the club, I thought it was only fair that we allowed him to speak to Villa and I hope that’s remembered.”

Arsene Wenger has just about done and seen it all during his 13 seasons at Arsenal.

He may well have even bought the “In Arsene We Trust” T-shirt. However, one thing still does not sit right.

A lot of humble pie has been eaten since the famous headline “Arsene Who?” greeted the appointment of the then-unheralded French coach at Highbury during the autumn of 1996.

Now, of course, Wenger - who tomorrow becomes the longest serving manager in Arsenal history - is lauded as one of the best football brains on the planet.

‘The Professor’, who holds a Masters’ Degree in Economics from Strasbourg University, has secured three Premier League titles - including the famous Invincibles campaign of 2003/2004 - along with the FA Cup four times and an appearance in the Champions League final three years ago.

However, it was the failure of his young side to rise to the challenge against Manchester United in last season’s European Cup semi-final which continues to rest uneasy on Wenger’s conscience.

Completely outplayed at Old Trafford, yet somehow still in the tie being only 1-0 down, Arsenal opened up all guns blazing in the second leg, only for an untimely slip by rookie full-back Kieran Gibbs to prove so costly as United grabbed a crucial early away goal and went on to Rome.

Wenger recalled: “Losing the semi-final of the Champions League to Manchester United last year was the lowest point, because we did not play at our level.

“We have got a young team, which has an average age of 22 or 23, and one which is maturing - even if it can make mistakes like in semi-final of the Champions League.

“What is very disappointing for us, however, is in the games that mattered in the last three or four weeks we could not win.

“That is where we have to analyse.”

Wenger, whose side also lost out in the semi-finals of the FA Cup, to Chelsea at Wembley, added: “At the end of the day, we tried very hard to get the best out of the team.

“If it is not good enough, it is not good enough, we can accept that - but trust me, there was no fault of commitment on our side.

“We will naturally progress if we keep going.”

While many other men who were about to turn 60 next month may well be contemplating a well-earned retirement, Wenger has no intentions of hanging up his manager’s overcoat just yet.

“I have never had a day when I think I could live without football,” said the former Monaco coach.

“I know one day it will happen, but you should not live every day knowing you are going to die - you live knowing that you want to live.

“You will know if you are not hungry enough any more, but other people will tell you if you are not good enough any more.”

Wenger’s legacy at the Emirates Stadium is already secure, with a bronze bust of the Frenchman now in pride of place alongside fellow Arsenal legend Herbert Chapman at the impressive 60,000-seater stadium, into which he had so much influence.

Indeed a fitting venue for his unique brand of passing football, which has written its own chapter in footballing folklore.

“The highest point was to play a whole season unbeaten. No matter how much money anybody else has invested, nobody else has done that,” Wenger reflected.

It is, though, the continued progress and development of his players - moulding world-class stars rather than simply just buying them - which perhaps serves as the most fitting tribute.

Thierry Henry was turned from an out-of-sorts winger at Juventus into arguably the greatest player of his generation while at Highbury, and it was also Wenger who plucked Emmanuel Adebayor from relative obscurity at Monaco to help turn the Togo international into one of the most-sought after strikers in Europe.

Current captain Cesc Fabregas is a case in point.

The midfielder arrived at Arsenal as a 16-year-old from the Barcelona youth set up and is now their most prized asset - one which the Catalan giants would love to have back.

A strong sense of loyalty, though, continues to keep the likes of Fabregas and Robin van Persie, last season’s scorer who arrived as a raw talent from Feyenoord in May 2004, committed to Wenger’s cause.

“He has been the most important influence in my short career,” Fabregas declared.

“He took me here, made me train with the first-team when I was 16 years old - I was training alongside Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp and Patrick Vieira so I was lucky to learn from the big players.

“For me it was a very big step forward.

“The manager took the risk to put me in the team.

“I have to thank him for that and now I have to pay him back for what he has done for me.”

Getting his hands on a long-overdue trophy in 2010 would certainly be a start.

Gloucester have confirmed a fixture against Australia at Kingsholm on November 3.

It will launch the Wallabies’ United Kingdom leg of their upcoming tour, which also includes appointments with England and Wales.

Gloucester managing director Ken Nottage said: “I am absolutely delighted to be able to announce the visit of the Australian national team to Kingsholm.

“Everyone at Gloucester is working hard to establish Kingsholm as one of the premier rugby venues in Europe.

“We have been fortunate enough to stage Under-20 internationals, a European Challenge Cup final, the Barbarians versus Ireland and are among the proposed venues for the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

“Welcoming a team of the stature of Australia to Kingsholm further boosts our credentials in this respect, and we are all looking forward to this fixture hugely.”

Nemanja Vidic believes the feeling of losing last year’s final will drive Manchester United to Champions League glory.

United tackle German champions Wolfsburg at Old Trafford on Wednesday looking to maintain a positive start in Group B.

Victory will leave the Red Devils tantalisingly close to booking their place in the knockout phase after just two games.

Yet it is only in Madrid next May that United can truly exorcise the ghosts of Rome and the defeat to Barcelona.

“It is a very bad feeling when you go to a final and lose and that one is a particularly bad memory,” said Serbian defender Vidic.

“You do have to acknowledge it is better to get to the final and lose than not be there at all and that to stand up you need to sit. But it is hard.

“We all know how we felt. We need to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

United head into the game against Wolfsburg buoyed by a run of seven successive wins in all competitions, the latest being a comfortable triumph at Stoke on Saturday.

It suggests some kind of balance has been found following the high-profile exits of Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez, players it was felt Sir Alex Ferguson would find impossible to replace.

Vidic is certainly happy with the way United have coped but is anxious not to start shouting too quickly, knowing accurate assessments will only be made once the campaign has reached its conclusion.

“Ronaldo and Tevez are quality players, there is no question about that,” Vidic added.

“But it is hard to say whether we have got over losing them. We will probably only know that at the end of the season.

“If we don’t win trophies, people will say it is because they have gone, although that is not necessarily the case.

“At the moment we are doing well. We have had the best start in the four years I have been here.

“There is no question we have quality players but, for me, the really encouraging sign is that we are still not in the best form.

“You don’t want to be at your highest level at this stage. We have to be ready for the most important games at the end.”

However, few would dispute Wayne Rooney is at the top of his game.

When Ronaldo made his world record £80million switch to Real Madrid, more attention was focused on Rooney to fulfil the immense potential he showed with Everton as a youngster.

The England star is delivering, although Vidic feels the demand was unjust anyway.

“It is wrong that people are suddenly looking at Wayne,” he said. “He has always been an important player for us so, in that sense, nothing has changed.

“Sometimes he does things the fans don’t see because he is doing a job for the team.

“This year he is even more noticeable because he is scoring goals and has a different role in the team.

“But we don’t need to put pressure on him. We know all about his ability.”