United boosted by Evra return

Patrice Evra has returned to training ahead of Manchester United’s Champions League opener against Galatasary on Wednesday.

Evra was forced to sit out Saturday’s 4-0 win over Wigan after suffering a minor knock while on international duty with France.

He may have feared for his place in the starting line-up after watching Alex Buttner’s impressive debut for United, but Evra reported for training on Tuesday with a view to fighting for his place against the Turkish outfit.

Wayne Rooney, Chris Smalling and Phil Jones will all miss the match through injury, but Robin van Persie and Shinji Kagawa both trained along with Darren Fletcher.

United were humiliated in last year’s Champions League as they failed to progress beyond the group stages, leading Sir Alex Ferguson to admit he got his team selections wrong.

Ferguson and his players are determined to make amends this term and Giggs believes Van Persie and Kagawa will give them the edge they need to progress.

“Robin has the experience of playing in Europe with Arsenal,” Giggs said. “The goals he has got will hopefully give us that extra edge this season.

“Shinji is that kind of player who will thrive in Europe, where possession is key.

“He keeps the ball and gets into positions where he is hard to pick up.

“I am sure they will both be very good additions in Europe for us.”