The hard work will start immediately for Wayne Rooney to ensure his spell on the sidelines is as brief as possible.
Although there has been no official confirmation from Manchester United, it is widely anticipated the scan Rooney had yesterday will confirm a sprained right ankle and a two-to-four week period on the sidelines.
That would rule Rooney out of Saturday's crucial Premier League encounter with Chelsea, plus the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final against Bayern Munich next Wednesday.
However, in a best-case scenario, the 24-year-old would be available for a semi-final meeting with either Lyon or Bordeaux should United overcome Bayern's 2-1 first-leg advantage.
So the chances are Rooney will quickly be back on an exercise bike, to increase mobility around the affected area and ensure United have him back on the field in time to play some meaningful part in the remainder of the campaign.
In the meantime, record signing Dimitar Berbatov must shoulder the striking responsibility, with Nemanja Vidic confident the £30.75million Bulgarian is up to the task.
"We showed this season, we play as a team," said Vidic. "It is not just about one man.
"Definitely Wayne Rooney has had a great season. He is unbelievable, one of the best in the world.
"But sometimes big players are missing, and others need to be ready."
As Michael Owen and Danny Welbeck are out for the season, unless Ferguson places all his trust in rookies Federico Macheda and Mame Biram Diouf, the 'other' in this instance, will have to be Berbatov.
Bought from Tottenham in 2008, the former Spurs striker has struggled to win over his critics, largely due to his relaxed style of play.
Yet United do have a pretty good record when Berbatov has started games for them and at both Wolves and Bolton recently, the Bulgarian has proved adept at producing the kind of gritty performance Rooney has perfected in that lone striking role.
"Dimitar had a great game against Bolton on Saturday. He is a great footballer," said Vidic.
"He scored twice himself and can set up goals for other players as well.
"We have a good squad. We just need to believe in ourselves and believe in each other."
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