Sir Alex Ferguson feuds with FA over Ashley Young injury

Sir Alex Ferguson has vowed never to give any information to the FA again after it revealed that Ashley Young was unfit to play in England's World Cup qualifiers against Moldova and Ukraine.

The news that the 27-year-old had a knee injury meant Manchester United had to acknowledge he would not feature in the squad for tomorrow's game at Southampton. The injury forced Young (above) off during the 3-2 win over Fulham, but Ferguson had hoped to conceal its extent until he handed in his team sheet.

"It was nice of the FA to let everyone know that Ashley Young is injured," Ferguson said. "There is no point in giving them any information now. Why should we alert our opponents as to who is fit and who is not? It won't happen again."

The Manchester United manager has always been wary of publicly commenting on the extent of his players' injuries lest he concede what he sees as a competitive advantage.

His feud with the BBC radio commentator Alan Green dates from the Ulsterman's observation that he would only believe Ferguson on who was available when his players ran out on to the pitch. United recently banned two reporters who wrote, correctly, that Rio Ferdinand would be unfit for the opening game at Everton.