What Happened To Titus?

Having also been named in the squad released by the club on Friday, Titus Bramble remained on Tyneside whilst his team-mates flew to the South Coast. "Titus trained but he didn't feel free, he has a bit of tightness in his hamstring and we didn't want to take the risk," said Souness.

However Souness claims it is not a problem and the defender will be up for selection when United travel to Wigan for the next Premiership match.

Other players struggling ... Scott Parker played at Portsmouth despite having suffered a groin problem last week but Celestine Babayaro, having sustained a similar injury during the first half at Fratton Park, retired after 45 minutes.

Souness said: "We have two weeks to try to get some of the lads back. The break is fine by me. Ideally, I would like a month off. We will be sitting with everything crossed during these international games."