LONDON: Robin van Persie could return from injury for Manchester United’s Premier League game with Everton on Wednesday, manager David Moyes said on Tuesday.
The Dutch striker has been sidelined with a groin problem since scoring the winner in United’s 1-0 victory over Arsenal on November 10.
But Moyes, who faces former club Everton for the first time since succeeding Alex Ferguson, told a news conference today: “Robin is OK. He has a chance of playing.”
Van Persie has scored seven times in 10 league games for the champions this season and in his absence United have dropped four points in draws at Cardiff City and Tottenham Hotspur.
Moyes was in charge at Goodison Park for 11 years, during which time Everton’s best league finish was fourth in 2005.
Now, with Everton fifth in the league and on a run of six games unbeaten, Moyes is looking up at his old employer as they visit eighth-placed United.
The Scot acknowledged the work of his successor, Roberto Martinez, but suggested that not all the credit should go to the Spaniard.
“He is doing a very good job,” Moyes said. “He has very good players there. I always told them they could play without a manager because they are very well organised. But Roberto is doing a really good job keeping it going.
“Everton were a great club for me … they were fabulous to me. Overall we had a good level of consistency, finished well in the division,” Moyes added.
“It could be a mixed reaction at times (from the Everton supporters) tomorrow night. The Everton fans understand their football and I think they’ll understand I brought in a lot of good players there.”
Moyes has taken United on a 12-game unbeaten run in all competitions since they lost 2-1 at home to West Bromwich Albion in the league in September.
They enjoyed their best win of the Moyes era in a 5-0 victory at Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League last week, but are nine points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal.
“The job is to keep (this unbeaten period) going, keep winning and keep on a good run of form,” Moyes said.
“We’ve done that, but as I’ve repeated myself many times, we let in a late goal at Cardiff which turned what would have been a really good week into one that wasn’t quite as good as we would have liked.
“But we still drew two games and won one last week. We’d like that to be a better ratio but nevertheless it’s not a bad one either.”
Everton have not beaten United at Old Trafford since August 1992, when they won 3-0.
Kompany set for comeback
Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany is available again after two months out due to injury, manager Manuel Pellegrini said on Tuesday.
The Belgium defender is in the squad for Wednesday’s Premier League trip to West Bromwich Albion after recovering from a thigh strain that has sidelined him since the 3-1 win over Everton on Oct. 5.
“Kompany is in the squad and will travel with the team,” Pellegrini told a news conference. “I think Vincent is a very important player. He is a very good defender and of course we need him.”
City have not fared too badly in Kompany’s absence. In the 10 games in all competitions since, they have won seven and drawn one.
In the league they have recorded three clean sheets in the last four games, culminating in a 3-0 victory over Swansea City on Sunday which lifted them to third in the table.
Rotation vital for Arsenal
Meanwhile, rotating the squad will be vital if Arsenal are to maintain the pace at the top of the Premier League as the most hectic part of the season looms, manager Arsene Wenger said on Tuesday.
A superb start to the season has lifted Arsenal four points clear after 13 matches but they face seven games in 25 days in December, beginning at home to Hull City on Wednesday.
Right back Bacary Sagna will miss the game with a hamstring injury, meaning a rare start for Carl Jenkinson, and Wenger knows the depth of his squad will be tested in the coming weeks.
“I rotate considering the level of fatigue,” Wenger told a news conference.
“We have some indications – my eyes, some objective data and as well some positions where it’s more demanding on the physical front than others.
“We have so many games that in some positions I will have to change; the full back position is one that is very demanding. Central defence is a little bit less demanding on the physical side, it’s more on the concentration side.
“When you play so many games of that intensity, we expect to lose one or two players. In every single game I will rotate. I try to limit the number because I do not want to disrupt the balance of the team, so I do that in every single game.”
With striker Olivier Giroud and midfielder Aaron Ramsey having scored 15 league goals between them this season, Wenger said he is not in a hurry to add to his forward options in the January transfer window, saying, “I am not concerned about that,” he said. (Reuters)