Wayne Rooney could make a surprise appearance for Manchester United when they host Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-final second-leg at Old Trafford on Wednesday.
Despite being ruled out for up to three weeks with the ankle injury he sustained in the closing stages of the first leg last Tuesday, the 24-year-old has been linked with a sooner than expected return to action.
Manager Sir Alex Ferguson insists he is not willing to risk the player because he is not 100% but he did admit that Rooney would try to talk him around. For that reason there is every chance that the striker could be named on the bench.
One player almost certain to feature among the substitutes is John O'Shea, who has recovered from the leg injury he sustained in the Republic of Ireland's World Cup play-off defeat to France.
Bayern, meanwhile, have been boosted by the news that winger Arjen Robben has recovered from a calf injury and is fit to start, while defender Daniel van Buyten is also available.
Man Utd (from): Van der Sar, Kuszczak, Neville, Rafael, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evans, Evra, De Laet, Valencia, Park, Fletcher, Carrick, Scholes, Gibson, O'Shea, Giggs, Nani, Obertan, Berbatov, Rooney, Macheda.