Manchester United Suffer Significant Pre-Season Injury Blow

Manchester United captain Nemanja Vidic will miss at least the start of the club's pre-season tour to the Far East and Australia with a back injury.

The Serbian defender missed most of last season with knee trouble having spent much of the 2011/12 campaign out with a cruciate knee ligament injury.

And while United are keen to stress Vidic's injury is not serious, the back problem is the latest in a catalogue of injury woes for the 31 year old.

"It's nothing serious," a club spokesperson told ManUtd.com. "Nemanja has a touch of sciatica [pain stemming from nerves in the back] and may still join the tour at a later date.

"In the meantime, he'll continue his pre-season preparations in Manchester at the Aon Training Complex."

David Moyes has taken a 19-man squad for the six-match squad pre-season schedule which starts in Bangkok this weekend and stretches three-and-a-half weeks until the final friendly against AIK Fotboll in Stockholm.

Wilfried Zaha and Wayne Rooney, whose future at the club is still to be resolved, have both been included in the touring party which represents the start of Moyes' tenure at United.

Such is the breadth of United's brand; they have been given a rousing reception upon their arrival in Thailand, and defender Rio Ferdinand is relishing the remainder of the tour.

"Tours like this are great," he said. "You have to embrace them. We have fans all around the world who support us so it's good to give something back. They can't get to Old Trafford easily so it's nice for us to come to them.

"I think it's natural that everybody here is trying to impress on this tour. When you get a new manager you want to show him that you should be in the starting XI for that first day of the new season and that process has started already."