New England skipper Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic have been paying secret visits to a specialist sports clinic to save their Manchester United careers.
According to The News of The World, the defensive duo have been making regular trips to the Blackberry Clinic in Milton Keynes.
Ferdinand has a mystery back injury, while Vidic has been struggling with a calf problem and has not played for the club since December 30.
The pair has been travelling to Milton Keynes together by train for weeks.
United turned to the Buckinghamshire clinic for help after club physios struggled to find a solution to Ferdinand's long- standing back problem.
The Blackberry Centre, which has been established for more than 20 years, specialises in the treatment of back, neck and joint pains.
Clinic director Simon Petrides is a musculoskeletal physician and has been overseeing their star clients' progress.
He said: "My greatest satisfaction is treating patients who perceive us as the last resort, then wish they had come much sooner. The sooner you seek treatment, the more beneficial the outcome."
United have placed their faith in a centre that is convinced its forward-thinking methods work and claims to have some of the best skeletal and muscular physicians in the world working for it.
