Saha stands by Silvestre

Louis Saha has backed countryman Mikael Silvestre to make a full recovery from the knee injury that's expected to keep the defender sidelined until March.

Silvestre has been out of action since catching his studs in the turf and damaging cruciate knee ligaments at Goodison Park on 15 September. It's the 30-year-old's second serious injury blow this year – a dislocated shoulder in March saw him miss five months' action – but fellow Frenchman Saha says his friend remains positive about his future.

"Mikael has been working very hard," Saha told Manchester United Radio. "He had a bad injury but he's tough enough to recover from that. I'm not worried about him – sure, he's had a tough time, but he's motivated and he'll be back."

Saha knows as well as anyone how frustrating injuries can be, which is why he was so delighted to start his first league match of the season against Blackburn Rovers last Sunday.

"I get fed up always talking about my return," he admitted, "so I'm very happy to be back on the pitch. The team are playing good football, scoring goals and are up for the challenge of maintaining this form for the rest of the season.

"The confidence in the dressing room is high. It's very much like a team of champions. We have plenty of quick legs in the team and we have a young side, although they have lots of experience. We have three world class players in Cristiano Ronaldo, Carlos Tevez and Wayne Rooney, and it's tremendous to have them in the side.

"They're all younger than me but I can learn so much from them. I'm pretty happy right now and I couldn't ask for more. I like to see the team playing well and scoring goals, so if I can be part of that I'm happy."