Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has said that one cannot possibly set a return date for Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher to return to first-team action.

The midfielder has been granted an extended break by the club after suffering from an inflammatory bowel condition. It is a disease that affects an extremely small population of people of the world, which makes Darren Fletcher one of the unlikeliest. Despite having a great career ahead of him, the future now looks bleak for Darren Fletcher. However, medical people at Old Trafford had expressed confidence that the midfielder will be soon back into the first-team fold fully fit.

Still, Sir Alex Ferguson does not seem to be confirmed about the dates he will be returning to first-team action. Speaking ahead of the match with Arsenal, the Manchester United manager said that the return date for Darren Fletcher is yet to be confirmed by the medical staff. It was initially thought that Darren Fletcher will not be available for at least another year, but recent reports suggested that he could be back at the start of next season. However, Sir Alex Ferguson confirmed that it would be very difficult to pinpoint return date with a rare disease such as this one.

“He’s been coming into training for the last few days, just getting himself out of the house really. It is difficult to put a time on it because it is not one we can assess accurately. It is what it is and hopefully time will be the answer,” said Ferguson ahead of the match with Arsenal. The return of Darren Fletcher will be crucial because Manchester United are clearly short of numbers in the midfield. The incredible number of injuries they suffered have certainly not helped them at all.