Ronny ready to return

Sir Alex Ferguson has confirmed that Cristiano Ronaldo will play some part in Wednesday's Champions League clash with Villarreal, but Michael Carrick is definitely out and Dimitar Berbatov is a doubt for the Group E tie.

Ronaldo's rapid recovery from ankle surgery will see him involved in the squad for the first time this season, with the winger likely to be handed a spot on the bench.

“Cristiano will certainly be involved,” Sir Alex said at his pre-match press conference. “Whether we start him or not, irrespective of other players’ injuries, is still a major decision. I think it’s more likely that he will start on the bench."

The diagnosis of Carrick's injury is less favourable. A medical examination on Sunday showed the midfielder suffered a small crack in his right foot whilst going in for a tackle at Anfield. He could now miss up to six weeks of football.

“Michael's injury hasn't turned out well for us," confirmed Sir Alex. "He’ll be out for four to six weeks, which isn't good news. We have some other injury concerns ahead of the Villarreal game. Berbatov is very doubtful. He got a knee injury on Saturday. He came off for treatment and then played on, but there has been some swelling. We’ll work hard on that, but we may not have enough time.

“There were one or two other bumps and bruises from Saturday. Wes Brown got a knee injury and Patrice Evra felt sick during the game, but they should both be OK."

Fortunately, Sir Alex feels that he has plenty of options to cope. "It’s an important game with it being the start of our Champions League campaign," he said. "We have some injuries but we have a strong squad so we should be all right in terms of putting out a good team."