Veron set for return

Juan Sebastian Veron is set to return to Manchester United’s squad for the Premiership trip to Bolton on Saturday but Mikael Silvestre is a major fitness doubt.

The Argentinian midfielder picked up a toe injury on international duty in midweek which ruled him out of the crunch FA Cup tie with Arsenal.

Fears that Veron had suffered a fracture have been dispelled by X-rays and, after sitting out last night’s Champions League win over Juventus, the £28.1million capture from Lazio now hopes to be in the party who travel to the Reebok Stadium this weekend.

“Going back a couple of years I had a similar knock on the same toe but that time I sustained a fracture,” Veron told MUTV.

“This time it’s only bruising, which is great news.”

Silvestre may miss out after limping off with an ankle injury during the 2--1 win over Juve.

The French full-back took a blow attempting to tackle Christian Zenoni early in the second half and, though he continued after treatment, Silvestre was eventually replaced by John O’Shea.

““Mikael has an ankle injury but we will assess it over the next 24 hours,” manager Alex Ferguson said after last night’s win.

However, having already played 42 club games this season – more than any of his team-mates – Silvestre might not be risked at the weekend, particularly with the return against Juventus and a Worthington Cup final clash with Liverpool looming in the next 10 days.