Ferguson hopes Ferdinand may recover in time to face Blades

The Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, has received some welcome relief amid a defensive injury crisis after initial examinations suggested that Rio Ferdinand did not suffer major damage to his groin in United's FA Cup semi-final against Watford at Villa Park on Saturday.

The England defender limped off during the first-half of the 4-1 win over Watford, adding to an injury list that already included Gary Neville, Nemanja Vidic, Mikaël Silvestre and John O'Shea.

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While a return against Middlesbrough on Saturday is far more likely, Ferguson has not entirely given up hope of Ferdinand being involved against Sheffield United at Old Trafford tonight when United will be looking to extend their lead over Chelsea at the top of the Premiership to six points. The same is also true of O'Shea, who sat out Saturday's victory with a minor calf injury.

Should neither Ferdinand nor O'Shea be fit for tonight's game, Ferguson will face a problem over the right-back position.

Darren Fletcher is favourite to retain the role after doing well as an emergency replacement for Ferdinand on Saturday in a back four in which Gabriel Heinze partnered Wes Brown in the middle.

The only other plausible option is to give the 18-year-old Northern Irishman Craig Cathcart his debut. Normally a central defender, Cathcart has impressed at reserve team and academy level this season and has been a key figure in United's run to the Youth Cup final, the first leg of which was due to be played last night.

Ferguson's Sheffield United counterpart, Neil Warnock, also has some injury problems. The centre-back Claude Davis is almost certainly out of tonight's game after limping off with an ankle injury after 56 minutes of Saturday's 3-0 win over fellow relegation strugglers West Ham at Bramall Lane.

The striker Jon Stead, who scored the third goal against the Hammers on Saturday, also picked up a knock in that game and may not figure tonight.

The Football Association has confirmed that tickets for next month's FA Cup final will be priced at £35, £60, £80 and £95, with a limited number of tickets available to Manchester United and Chelsea at £17.50 for under-16s.

Manchester United (from): Van der Sar, Kuszczak, O'Shea, Fletcher, Cathcart, Ferdinand, Brown, Heinze, Evra, Ronaldo, Carrick, Scholes, Giggs, Richardson, Rooney, Smith, Solskjaer, Dong.

Sheffield United (from): Kenny, Bromby, Davis, Morgan, Jagielka, Shelton, Stead, Hulse, Webber, A Quinn, Kozluk, Kilgallon, Montgomery, Tonge, Gillespie, Armstrong, Leigertwood, Lucketti, Fathi, Geary, Nade, S Quinn, Kazim-Richards, Bennett.