Reds set off for Denmark

Gary Neville and Owen Hargreaves did not travel with the rest of the Reds squad, who set off for Denmark on Monday morning.

The Reds face Aalborg in the Champions League on Tuesday night and Sir Alex has taken an otherwise strong 20-man squad with him.

Sir Alex said on Saturday that Owen Hargreaves felt a recurrence of the knee injury that has hampered his United career.

Reds skipper Neville came through the weekend's 2-0 win over Bolton seemingly unscathed, but his absence from the squad will see Wes Brown return to right-back.

Aalborg are the unknown quantity in Group E. However, the Danish champions, managed by Bruce Rioch, earned an impressive point in Glasgow on Matchday 1 with a goalless draw at Celtic.

Rioch can boast two 1-0 home wins against United during spells in charge at Middlesbrough and Arsenal, but he also lost by the same scoreline in both return fixtures at OT.

The Reds have never played Aalborg before, but Sir Alex's men have met other Danish sides in recent years, including Brondby in 1998/99 and FC Copenhagen in 2006/07, where United were defeated 1-0 on the last visit to the country in November 2006.