Bramble has now recovered from a hernia operation that was undertaken after he limped out of the quarter-final FA Cup victory over Spurs.
It is not yet certain whether Bramble will start in
Certainly, before his injury Bramble had been our star man since the turn of the year. Gone were the errors that the press longed for and instead Bramble was producing performances that had some talking of a future
Our hope is that when Bramble does return the confidence that he obviously gained from his run of excellent form has not evaporated as a result of an untimely injury.
Andy O’Brien is playing like a man who knows that his St.James’ days are numbered. As every game goes by you feel he is eliminating a potential suitor come the summer. Can you honestly see David O’Leary wasting £3million of his apparent £20million kitty after O’Brien’s horror show in our 3-0 defeat last weekend? Surely it is time for Steven Taylor to move one place up the defensive pecking order.
Going into Sunday’s semi-final with Bramble and Boumsong at the heart of our defence would certainly install a great deal more confidence knowing that a likely forward line of Van Nistelrooy and Rooney awaits.