Rio Ferdinand has revealed his persistent back problem left him "bent over like an old hunchback" and struggling to walk.

And the United defender has also admitted that he hid the extent of the problem from Reds boss Sir Alex Ferguson.

Ferdinand is now back playing regularly but confessed it took him a long time to come clean to the club about just how bad the problem was.

The turning point was the 2-0 defeat to Liverpool in October, when Fernando Torres got away from him easily to fire Liverpool in front at Anfield.

Ferdinand told a Sunday newspaper: "The day after a game I would waddle into the club like a duck, bent over like an old hunchback.

"I would be hobbling around, unable to train for four or five days. I would be OK to play the next game, but I must have missed 60-70 per cent of training.

"If I'm honest, I didn't make it clear to the gaffer and the club physios that my injury was that serious.

"I just had an incredible desire to play football and had never had to deal with an injury of this scale before.

"But I was summoned into the manager's office after the Liverpool defeat.

"He told me: 'Last season, Torres would not have scored that goal against you'. As soon as he said that, you sit up and take notice.

"When the manager tells you something like that it hits home. So we made a decision to rest it completely before I could return to the team."

Ferdinand received a course of spinal injections to tackle the problem and has been given an orthopaedic cushion to aid his posture when sitting.

"I'm training at full pelt now," he added. "Now I just need a run of games to get match-fit.

"I'm still using the cushion, it helps my posture. I look daft when I'm sat on it in a restaurant - it makes me look really tall. But it has certainly helped."