Manchester Uniter manager Sir Alex Ferguson could miss start of next season due to hip surgery He was taken ill at a function in his native Scotland almost 12 months ago, although his nosebleeds were put down to the amount of short flights he had undertaken. Ferguson subsequently missed pre-season matches in Norway and Germany and also sat out a mid-winter break in Qatar. Other than that though, he has remained in bullish mood and yesterday poured champagne for journalists attending his press conference at United's Carrington training ground in recognition of a 13th Premier League title.