Well it’s clear that this may apply in the case of Phil Neville, now happily plying his trade at Everton. However, there’s been yet another injury setback for his older brother Gary, as reported in today’s Telegraph.
Neville, who has been sidelined for eight months with a combination of ankle and groin problems, had hoped to make his return to competitive action within the next few weeks.
However, the 32-year-old England international was forced to pull out of United’s reserve-team match against Sunderland last night amid fears his troublesome ankle has not yet healed.
Not that the full-back’s loss has been too keenly felt at club or international level. Wes Brown has formed part of a solid Manchester United defence this season who have conceded a miserly seven goals in fourteen matches. Meanwhile, while England have failed to qualify for Euro 2008, Micah Richards has been one of the few shining lights for the national team.
However, Neville’s contribution in attack has always been sorely underrated. His constant, well-timed overlapping runs allowed David Beckham and now Cristiano Ronaldo the room to work their magic.
It would be a great shame if this magnificent servant to Man United and England were never to play competitve football again. However, it’s interesting to note that Sir Alex Ferguson refuses to rule out this possibility entirely.
Read more Manchester united news on the