United have been given a welcome boost with the news that Paul
Scholes, Gary Neville and Louis Saha are all close to full
fitness.
Owen Hargreaves has also recovered from a knock and is available
for the Barclays Premier League trip to Reading on Saturday.
Scholes has been out of action since October after injuring knee
ligaments before United's Champions League clash with Dynamo Kyiv.
He returned to training over Christmas and will be checked out by
United's medical team next Thursday.
If given the go-ahead, he will start full training and could be
available for the FA Cup fourth round clash against Tottenham
Hotspur on Sunday week.
We are waiting for clearance from the medical staff next
Thursday," assistant manager Carlos Queiroz said on Friday.
We think the medical staff will give Scholes clearance to start
full training. If he does get the all-clear he can play
immediately. Its a possibility [he could be involved against
Tottenham], or at least he will probably be on the bench.
The influential midfielder has been training for a number of weeks
now and is said to be in excellent shape. His fitness is
fantastic," added Carlos. "Hes training like an 18-year-old. Hes
very excited, he can sense that hell be back soon."
Neville, meanwhile, could fly out with the squad to Saudi Arabia on
Saturday evening for their four-day training camp.
The Reds' defender made his second comeback in the Reserves last
week after ten months on the sidelines with ankle ligament trouble.
He felt his hamstring in the match against Everton and was forced
off at half time.
But Sir Alex Ferguson and his coaching staff will make a decision
about the skipper after training on Friday. If he's left behind, he
will play for the Reserves against Bolton next Wednesday.
Saha is also ahead of schedule in his race to overcome a knee
complaint. The striker missed United's 6-0 demolition of Newcastle
last weekend with the knock and the club confirmed he would be out
for around three weeks.
But Queiroz says is a step ahead in his rehabilitation and is
likely to be back "earlier than expected".