Law firm to try and seek compensation from Manchester United

Twenty year-old Colosimo requires a complete knee reconstruction following Cole’s high challenge during Sunday’s 1-0 win over Australia in Sydney.

Colosimo’s Melbourne club Carlton said they had approached the law firm after a string of international lawyers contacted the club saying they were prepared to represent the player.

Solicitor Peter Gordon said he would study all available material before deciding whether to proceed with litigation.

“But there is no doubt that the law recognises claims like this,” he said.

“At the minimum we will be examining the role of Andy Cole and Manchester United’s policy and instructions to their players and the position of other organisations like soccer Australia and the tour promoters (Rivkin Entertainment),” he said.

However, Gordon said his firm had its own reputation to protect and would not be pursuing legal action if it considered the case frivolous.

Carlton director Lou Sticca said the club was sickened by the challenge and he confirmed that the club had not taken out any independent insurance to cover the player during the Manchester United game believing he was covered by the National League’s insurance.

Colosimo was nursing a badly swollen leg today and had been due to begin trials in Europe next month.

United issued a statement yesterday which said: “Andy Cole and Manchester United are extremely upset by comments in the media following our match in Sydney on Sunday, in which Andy was involved in an accidental collision with Simon Colosimo.

“Andy has sent a private message to Simon together with his best wishes for a speedy recovery,” it said.

Colosimo said there had been no private message from Cole.

“All I know is that there was somebody who said there was something on the Internet,” he said.

Colosimo will undergo surgery on the weekend.