Vidic stunned at Scholes signing

Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic has expressed his surprise at Paul Scholes’ decision to come out of retirement.

The 37-year old midfielder retired at the end of the 2010-11 season, but began his comeback – which is set to last until the end of the season – for United in their 3-2 victory over rivals Manchester City in the FA Cup on Sunday.

Vidic joined star striker Wayne Rooney in stating his surprise at the re-introduction of the veteran to the United squad, to help Sir Alex Ferguson’s men maintain a high standard despite a flurry of injuries to key players.

“I have to say I was surprised. I didn’t know anything about it. I think the coaches kept quiet about that and Paul has been working with the fitness coaches the past few weeks to build up his fitness. He had some training with the reserves, but we thought he was training because he’s a fan, not because he wanted to come back,” the Serbian centre-back said.

“He’s great to have in the dressing room because he’s a character. He’s a player that’s nice to have around us and secondly, he will bring us so much technically in our game, especially when we have a few problems with midfield players like Fletch (Darren Fletcher) who is out until possibly the end of the season. And until he is back, I think Scholesy will be a great replacement and I’m glad to see him again.”

The 30-year-old Vidic added that the end of United’s injury crisis was near, as they prepare to fight to defend their Premiership.

“I think we are past the period of injuries we have now. We have all the players back on the training field now. I think overall, we have a good squad with some young players coming through and I think they have shown this season that they can manage these expectations, and playing for a club like Manchester United always bring attention in always looking to win trophies,” he said.

“I think we have a good squad and we have the players. This is always the part of the season where we improve our form and always finish in a good way.”

Vidic was named in the FIFA/FIFPro WORLD XI at the Ballon d’Or gala on Monday night, along with team-mate Rooney.