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Vidic injury not serious

Manchester United left for Thailand on Wednesday without Nemanja Vidic, but the club insist the skipper's injury is "nothing serious".



The Serbian was not in the 19-man squad that boarded a plane bound for Bangkok on Wednesday, as the Reds flew out for the first leg of Tour 2013 presented by Aon.

The defender is likely to join his team-mates on the trip at a later stage, however, with United scheduled to play further games in Australia, Japan (x2) and Hong Kong before returning to the UK at the end of July. A match in Sweden will then follow on Tuesday 6 August.

"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."

United's first pre-season game is against a Singha All Star XI on Saturday 13 July (14:00 BST).

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Fixtures: Nine changes for Reds

Nine of Manchester United's Barclays Premier League fixtures from 17 August until 1 December have been selected for live television coverage.



The revised dates and / or kick-off times for these nine games are as follows:

Swansea City away - Saturday 17 August, 17:30 BST, Live on Sky Sports

Chelsea home - Monday 26 August, 20:00 BST, Live on Sky Sports

Liverpool away - Sunday 1 September, 13:30 BST, Live on Sky Sports


Crystal Palace home - Saturday 14 September, 12:45 BST, Live on BT Sport

Manchester City away - Sunday 22 September, 16:00 BST, Live on Sky Sports

Sunderland away - Saturday 5 October, 17:30 BST, Live on Sky Sports

Arsenal home - Sunday 10 November, 16:10 BST, Live on Sky Sports

Cardiff City away - Sunday 24 November, 16:00 BST, Live on Sky Sports*

Tottenham Hotspur away - Saturday 30 November, 12:45 BST, Live on BT Sport**

*The Cardiff match is subject to United’s possible participation in the Champions League the following Tuesday. **If Tottenham qualify for the group stages of the Europa League, this match will move to Sunday 1 December, at 12:00 BST, and will still be live on BT Sport.

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Gallery: Thai work-out

http://www.manutd.com/en/Tour2013/To...-bangkok.aspx#

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Rio relishing Thai trip

In the middle of an 11-hour flight, at the beginning of a three-week journey that will take in five cities in four countries and traverse more than 20,000 miles, Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand could easily have been daunted at what lay ahead.



But as we sat down in row 37 of our chartered flight to Bangkok - the first stop on Tour 2013 presented by Aon - Ferdinand was unmistakably upbeat. It might be the dawn of a new era at Manchester United but Rio, who celebrates more than a decade at the club with a testimonial game at Old Trafford against Seville on Friday 9 August, has seen it all before.

"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.

"If you sit down and think: 'I'm going to be away from my family for three weeks and it's going to be really tough' then you won't enjoy it. You may as well not bother boarding the plane if that's your attitude. You need to be positive and that's what I try and do."

This year, as he has the past two summers, Ferdinand will be capturing behind-the-scenes footage of life on tour with the Reds for MUTV. Armed with a hand-held video camera, he'll show fans what it's really like to play for one of the biggest clubs in world football.

We can expect plenty of laughs along the way - Ferdinand is, after all, renowned for his unique brand of dressing-room banter - but the defender is quick to point out there's also a steely determination about the squad on this pre-season jaunt.

Rio relishing Thai trip

"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.

"We've been back from our holidays for more than a week and it's been a really good start. It's been very, very hard but it's been enjoyable and I think we'll see the benefits of the work we've been putting in back in Manchester and the work we're about to do on tour.

"That will come in the shape of better fitness and a better understanding of the personalities of the players and the coaching staff, because it's a new era for all of us. Hopefully things will come together and we can get off to a good start once the season begins."

Having landed in Bangkok on Thursday morning at 08:09 local time, Ferdinand and his team-mates' pre-season preparations will continue when the squad convenes for its first tour training session in the afternoon. Thursday and Friday will contain a mixture of training and commercial commitments, before United take on a Singha All Star XI at the Rajamangala Stadium on Saturday (kick-off 14:00 BST).

"I love Thailand," Rio said. "It's a really nice country with great people who love Manchester United. It's crazy whenever we visit this part of the world. The reception we get in the Asian countries is something else entirely. I've never seen fanatics like them.

"They come to airports at mad times in the morning to greet us, they hang around our hotels... it's great and makes us feel really welcome."

[bbfan1991]

Gallery: Hello Bangkok

http://www.manutd.com/en/Tour2013/To...thailand.aspx#

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Moyes: Thai fans are incredible

David Moyes’ first experience of fan fervour on a Manchester United pre-season tour will live long in his memory.



The Reds boss arrived in Bangkok with his team on Thursday and, though he was aware how passionate United fans were in Asia, he was still taken aback by the reception.

"The amount of people who were at the airport was incredible and the excitement when we arrived was like The Beatles – it was something else," Moyes told MUTV.

"There are fans in and outside the hotel and everywhere we go. It just shows the power of United. I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to it!."

Moyes also discussed Wayne Rooney’s injury and you can watch the full interview with Stewart Gardner on MUTV at 10:00 BST.

[bbfan1991]

Welbeck catching the eye

David Moyes says he has been impressed with Danny Welbeck as the striker looks certain to lead the line against the Singha All Star XI on Saturday in the opening match of the Tour 2013 presented by Aon.



The local lad rose through the ranks at Old Trafford and Wayne Rooney's return home with a hamstring injury has left him as the only out-and-out centre-forward in the squad.

"I've only seen him for a short time but I've been impressed," enthused Moyes at a press conference in Bangkok. "He looks a very good player.

Larnell Cole and Angelo Henriquez.

"Larnell Cole was given extra time off," confirmed the Reds boss. "He was playing in the European tournaments this summer. He's only just reporting back for training now. The people tell me he's an exciting prospect and I'm looking forward to seeing more of him in the coming months.

"At the moment, we want to change one or two things around. I just need a bit of time to do that. I've chosen not to bring them [some of the more established fringe members of the squad such as Bebe and Federico Macheda] on the tour. I felt as if I wanted to give some other players an opportunity so I've left them behind."

"I'm really excited but more excited about the players I'm working with. They've lifted me. The biggest thing is the professionalism. It's second to none. Also their commitment to be winners. I see it in training."

"A lot of the things he's done have been excellent. If we can add some goals to his tally from last year, it will make a big difference. From what I’ve seen so far, he's an exciting player and someone I'm looking forward to working with."

Jesse Lingard, Michael Keane and Adnan Januzaj who, like Welbeck, have played for the club's Academy, will all be handed a chance to shine during the tour.

"Tomorrow is my first opportunity to manage the team," added Moyes. "And it will take a little bit of time to get used to each other but that's what the games are for. We'll try and give as many people as we can an opportunity to play. We'll see some young players as well. Obviously, we will use all the games to prepare for the start of the season."

Some younger players have also been left behind and are likely to feature in the friendlies taking place in Britain and Ireland. Those competing at the Under-20 World Cup have been granted a break, namely Sam Johnstone, Guillermo Varela, Tom Thorpe, Larnell Cole and Angelo Henriquez.

"Larnell Cole was given extra time off," confirmed the Reds boss. "He was playing in the European tournaments this summer. He's only just reporting back for training now. The people tell me he's an exciting prospect and I'm looking forward to seeing more of him in the coming months.

"At the moment, we want to change one or two things around. I just need a bit of time to do that. I've chosen not to bring them [some of the more established fringe members of the squad such as Bebe and Federico Macheda] on the tour. I felt as if I wanted to give some other players an opportunity so I've left them behind."

"I'm really excited but more excited about the players I'm working with. They've lifted me. The biggest thing is the professionalism. It's second to none. Also their commitment to be winners. I see it in training."

Welbz. I am looking forward to seeing how the young lads we have taken on tour do!