Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed that he will be distributing Premier league medals to Alexander Buttner and Darren Fletcher. In previous years, the Premier league medals were available only to players who have made a certain number of appearances over the course of the season. It was previously 10 appearances, which was reduced to 5 in the previous season. Now, though, Ferguson has confirmed that it is up to the clubs to distribute the medals to whoever they wish. Fletcher has made only three Premier league appearances this season.

His presence in the Manchester United first team has been limited by the chronic bowel irritation, which is likely to make him retire from football at the end of the season. It has been two years since the onset of the problem and Fletcher has been unable to find recovery up until now. Ferguson has revealed that Manchester United will be receiving 40 medals from the Premier league after having won the 20th league title in their history. This will be handed out to the players chosen by Ferguson, and he has confirmed that Fletcher will be one of them.

The defender, Alexander Buttner, who was also signed in the summer will be the second recipient of the medal.

“I think that’s fair because, in Darren Fletcher’s case for instance, it’s only illness which has prohibited him from getting a medal. I’m sure if he’d been available he would have been sitting here with one. Buttner’s been great because he’s travelled to every away game with us, he’s been involved in every single training session, he’s played three times and been a substitute another 10 times, something like that. They will get medals. They give you an allocated number of medals and it’s up to you to distribute them how you want,” said Ferguson.

Manchester United have revealed in a statement that the midfielder Darren Fletcher will miss the rest of the season after undergoing a planned surgery in order to treat his bowel condition. The 28-year-old Scotland international has been one of the influential players for United over the years. However, he has missed the last one year of action due to an inflammatory bowel condition. He recently returned at the start of the season to the Manchester United first-team. Even though he has not been used in the Premier league often by the manager, Fletcher has been an integral part of the team in the second competitions.

However, he will miss the rest of the season after he has undergone a surgery that had been planned earlier. Fletcher last appeared for Manchester United in the 4-3 win over Newcastle on Boxing Day. United have said that they are extremely confident that the players will return to first-team action from the start of next season. Meanwhile, the Scotland manager Gordon Strachan has praised the midfielder for the commitment and pride he shows when it comes to playing for his country. The new manager will have certainly welcomed the presence of Fletcher for the World Cup qualifiers, but he is now going to be unavailable.

“Darren Fletcher will be unavailable for the remainder of this season having undergone surgery to resolve his ulcerative colitis condition. We wish to stress this was a planned procedure undertaken at the optimal time having achieved a period of sustained good general health, as illustrated by the fact that Darren has trained with the team regularly this season and been available for selection right up to the operation. This decision has been taken with our full support in the best interests of his long-term health and we look forward to him returning next season with this problem firmly behind him,” said the United statement.