TONY HIBBERT admits  the international break  came at a good time for  Everton as they  prepare  to enter the “hostile”  arena of Old Trafford.

The Goodison outfit  have been struck by a  succession of injury  problems this season,  with the  likes of Mikel  Arteta, Phil Jagielka  and Phil Neville all  ruled out for lengthy  periods.

However, those  concerns are starting to  ease with Everton  manager David Moyes  hopeful  Neville, Leon  Osman and Steven  Pienaar can all return  for Saturday evening’s  visit to  Manchester  United.

The fixture is  infamously the most  one-sided in Premier  League history, with  Everton having  lost 26 of  34 meetings between the  teams and won only  three.

Everton scored a  memorable victory over  Sir Alex Ferguson’s side  in their last clash in the  FA  Cup semi-final at  Wembley last April.

Hibbert, though,  acknowledges it will not  be an easy task for  Moyes’s men at the  weekend.

“You go to Old  Trafford expecting it to  be hostile and the  atmosphere to be for  their players,”   said the  right-back. “It’s one of  those games where you  just have to get your  head down and  play.

“We were just about  down to the bare bones  by the time the  international break  came around.  We have  had quite a few bad  injuries this season.

“The whole squad has  got to stick together and  carry on. We all hope to  get the injured players   back soon.”

Moyes will hope those  players on international duty  return to Finch Farm  unscathed later this  week.