Smalling hopes United stay fit during break
Manchester United's Chris Smalling is hoping for his team-mates to emerge from the upcoming international break unscathed.
By FOX SPORTS staff
A weekend after Manchester United consolidated a 15 point lead over rivals Manchester City, the bulk of Sir Alex Ferguson's squad will be in action for their respective countries in World Cup qualifiers and international friendlies.
Smalling told the club's official website that he was keeping his fingers crossed in hopes of his team-mates returning from the upcoming international break healthy.
"The 15-point lead looks good now, but we go away to join up with our national teams and hopefully everyone can come back fit because we then have two big games against Sunderland and Chelsea. That could be a key edge in terms of how the league and cup goes. So that will be a big few days for us," Smalling pointed out.
The Red Devils found themselves in a similar league position during the previous campaign, but lost form in the last few months of the season to allow Roberto Mancini's squad back into the title race. Nonetheless, Smalling was adamant that last year's collapse would not be repeated this time round.
"It’s a massive incentive for us to hold onto this lead, it’s a bigger lead than last year but we can’t rest on our laurels and we want to make sure we finish the job this season," he stated.