Veron remains a doubt for United

Juan Sebastian Veron will travel to Middlesbrough on Boxing Day but remains a major doubt after suffering a knee injury in training last weekend.

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson is also sweating on the recovery of midfielder Paul Scholes from a slight back strain as his team bid to bounce back from Sunday’s 1-0 defeat at Blackburn.

Ferguson will take a 21-man squad to the Riverside, including skipper Roy Keane, although the Corkman seems unlikely to start .

There could be changes however, with England captain David Beckham set to earn a recall, probably at the expense of Diego Forlan.

Rio Ferdinand returned to training on Saturday but is unlikely to make his comeback.

Team (from): Barthez, G Neville, Blanc, Brown, Silvestre, O’Shea, Beckham, Veron, P Neville, Giggs, Solskjaer, Scholes, van Nistelrooy, Forlan, Keane, Ricardo, Carroll, Richardson, Nardiello, Ferdinand, Chadwick.