Dimitar Berbatov will play through the pain barrier and delay a knee operation because Manchester United's options up front are so thin.

Berbatov has been troubled by a knee injury and was due to undergo an exploratory operation - sidelining him for two weeks - to assess the extent of the problem.

But with United reliant on Wayne Rooney, and Michael Owen having been marginalised in recent weeks, Sir Alex Ferguson could not afford to lose Berbatov for any length of time.

And the United boss revealed the Bulgarian has decided to put off any surgery after feeling no discomfort during the club's four-day winter training camp in Qatar.Dimitar wants to play through it and he doesn't want to have an operation," said Fergie.

"The advice to us was that he should have an exploratory operation. But sometimes he feels his knee, and sometimes he doesn't.

"Maybe being in a warmer climate helped in that respect, but he didn't feel it at all when we were away and took part in every training session.

"He trained every day with us, so it seems as though it's one of those situations we'll have to keep an eye on."

Edwin van der Sar, who has been missing through injury and away on compassionate leave after his wife was taken ill, joined up with the squad in the Middle East and will be back soon.

Although Tomasz Kuszczak has deputised superbly for van der Sar, Fergie confirmed Van der Sar would reclaim the No.1 spot when he felt ready to return.

"It's all down to Edwin and how he feels," said Fergie. "It's great to have him back, and when he does come back into the team it will be very important for us.

"We also took Rio Ferdinand and Owen Hargreaves with us. Both took part in some of the work we did and there's light at the end of the tunnel, particularly for Rio.

"He won't start against Burnley on Saturday, but he's not too far away now. And that's really the issue for us - getting back to some solid defending and some consistency.

"It was important for us to get away because of the conditions here. It's not been easy for anyone.

"I'm sure most clubs have found it hard to get training sessions done, and that's the reason we decided to go."