Larsson's lift-off may be delayedHENRIK Larsson may be left on the bench after Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson admitted to second thoughts about throwing him into the FA Cup fray tomorrow.
The 35-year-old Swede was due to make his debut in the starting line-up alongside fellow Scandinavian Ole Gunnar Solskjaer against Aston Villa.
But Ferguson, who has admitted that he has previously tried to sign the former Celtic and Barcelona ace as many as three times, now says it is more likely only one of the two Viking veterans will start.
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With Louis Saha out with a slight groin strain until next week, and Wayne Rooney desperate to re-discover his scoring touch, it means that Larsson is likely to have to be patient.
The only definite decision Ferguson appears to have made is to play Polish keeper Tomasz Kuszczak in place of regular stopper Edwin van der Sar.
He said: "That is possibly the only real change I will make, although obviously I am thinking about Larsson and Solskjaer, who will definitely be involved."
Concerns have been raised, not least in Sweden, about Larsson's fitness and motivation after he went into semi-retirement with Helsingborg last summer. His performances in Sweden have not ripped up any trees, and the ten-week loan signing has raised a few eyebrows over there.
Ferguson is adamant that Larsson's arrival represents good business, although he says there will be no moves to extend the deal beyond March 12.
Pleased
"Henrik's training performances have been very good I have been very pleased with that," said the Reds boss.
"He is very sharp and obviously a man who looks after himself, so we don't have any concerns about that.
"His career speaks for him. I have been an admirer for years and on two or three occasions I thought I had him, and didn't have him, but nevertheless his performances over the years have been fantastic and his record at Celtic is marvellous."
Some have wondered whether a Solskjaer-Larsson partnership would have enough energy and muscle, especially in the midst of an FA Cup tie, and that they may be too similar to play together.
Ferguson disagreed: "Both are good finishers, and both are getting on in years and so have that experience which they use in their movement and positional play in the penalty box. Maybe that is their great strength, but that is where the similarities end.
"Whether Wayne plays depends on whether I decide to start with both Ole and Henrik in the side, or just the one of them. It's more likely I will just start with one of them.
"Henrik's training has been excellent - very good, very sharp and some good finishing. Everything I thought about the boy I have seen in training anyway, so there has been nothing different from what I expected.
Hard affairs
"I hope he scores, which would be nice because FA Cup ties are sometimes hard affairs.
"We are not looking to extend his contract beyond March 12, and we wouldn't be rude enough to change that because Helsingborg have been very helpful, and we are happy with that."
Ferguson has already told van der Sar that he will not play, as he wants Kuszczak to get some big-match experience.
"I am thinking of playing Tomasz Kuszczak in goal because it is important that the boy gets a bit of football," he said.
"Edwin has been fantastic of course. He understands that we need to give the boy some experience before we play European football.
"Tomasz's training performances have been absolutely superb. He is a dedicated trainer, and very quick and brave. He has a future, the boy, no question about that."
