Fergie elbows Drogba

SOCCER:Didier Drogba found himself at the centre of the Premiership's latest elbowing controversy last night when Alex Ferguson criticised the Chelsea striker for an aerial challenge that left Nemanja Vidic fearing he had a fractured jaw.

Vidic missed Manchester United's 3-0 victory over Everton on Wednesday and an angry Ferguson revealed the Serbian defender had needed an X-ray to see whether there had been any lasting damage inflicted by Drogba's flailing elbow.

The incident occurred in the first half of Chelsea's 1-1 draw at Old Trafford on Sunday, and, having studied the video replays, Ferguson made it clear he was unhappy with the decision by referee Howard Webb not to show the Premiership's leading scorer a red card.

"The concern for us was that the player got only a yellow card for use of the elbow, when it could have caused a serious injury," said Ferguson.

"Vidic got an elbow into his jaw and that's a concern. It could have been a serious one."

Ferguson, like Jose Mourinho, was generally impressed with Webb, and his anger lies primarily with Drogba, replays indicating the striker had looked to see where Vidic was before bringing down his right arm into his opponent's jaw.

Vidic returned to light training yesterday and Ferguson said the former Spartak Moscow player had had a lucky escape.

"We thought it was fractured and we sent him for a scan. Fortunately it is not but he is still very, very tender, so we had to leave him out (of the game against Everton)."

Ferguson was unwilling to name names, understandably reluctant to engage United's main challengers in a war of words, but he is known to be unhappy with the manner in which some Chelsea players led with their arms as they went into challenges.

Ferguson was also unimpressed about the number of fouls Chelsea conceded, believing it to be a deliberate ploy to break up the pattern of the game and prevent his team from getting into their usual flow.

This, he said, had been something he expected and had warned his players about.

Vidic is likely to return for tomorrow's game against Middlesbrough at the Riverside, where a win would extend United's lead at the top of the Premiership to six points - Chelsea have a free weekend - although Ferguson must weigh up whether to play his strongest side or to hold back players for Wednesday's Champions League tie at home to Benfica.

One concern is the fitness of Cristiano Ronaldo, who has been substituted in four of his last six games - five for United and one for Portugal - because of an ankle injury he suffered against Blackburn on November 11th.

He was withdrawn against Everton with 22 minutes left and Ferguson confirmed that the winger would need treatment. The United manager did, however, say the early diagnosis was that "he would be okay for Saturday".