Keane may sit out Man Utd clash

Roy Keane’s on-going hip complaint could see him figure among the substitutes in tonight's clash with Juventus in the Stadio delle Alpi tonight.

The Corkman has largely restricted himself to a holding midfield role since returning from surgery in December, and with Sunday’s game still offering United their best chance of landing silverware this season, Keane’s place may go to Nicky Butt with Juan Sebastian Veron joining him after missing last week’s encounter through suspension.

Veron could feature on the left side of midfield, with Phil Neville taking up a central role, while Ferguson is believed to be toying with the idea of partnering Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Diego Forlan up front, with Ruud van Nistelrooy and Ryan Giggs joining Keane on the bench.

“We have to handle the situation very carefully,” said Ferguson.

“Four years ago I made four changes for the FA Cup semi-final with Arsenal because of the amount of games we were playing and that will arise again this season.

“Defenders can usually cope with it but you have concerns about the midfield players and strikers.

“We have a big game coming up on Sunday, so I won’t play anyone tonight who is not 100% fit.”

Meanwhile, Ferguson dismissed speculation that Ryan Giggs could be set for a summer move to Inter Milan.

Inter president Massimo Moratti claimed that his side would be tabling a firm offer for the Welshman, who has had an indifferent campaign and has earned the ire of a section of the United support for recent poor performances.

However, Ferguson doesn’t believe his star winger will be going anywhere.

“We keep hearing these stories every year. Ryan Giggs is a Manchester boy and he is a Manchester United player. It’s just the media, nothing more.”

Manchester United’s recent record in Europe has earned them plenty of respect on the continent – but Gary Neville does not believe there will be too much in evidence from Juventus in the Stadio delle Alpi tonight.

The mere mention of United’s name usually instils a certain inferiority complex and, after reaching six successive Champions League quarter-finals, the Old Trafford side have proved their quality on more than one occasion.

But Juventus are one of the few rivals who can square up to the Red Devils as true equals, in size, tradition, support and trophies.

“Other teams probably give us more respect because we have reached the latter stages of the Champions League over the last few years but Juventus won’t do that,” said the England defender.

“When we first played against them in 1996 they were the most formidable side I had ever faced in Europe. We were stepping into the unknown and they were the benchmark.

“It was a real eye-opener for us and showed how far we would have to go to catch them.”

If a pair of 1-0 defeats to the Turin giants back in 1996 represented the start of a steep learning curve for United, it was their semi-final triumph at the Stadio Delle Alpi three years later which signalled the ascent.

After their previous disappointments in the competition, Neville admitted it was a crucial moment in the development of Sir Alex Ferguson’s side, even if they have been unable to build on their ultimate triumph over Bayern Munich.

“That game in 1999 was such a big night for the team,” said the 27-year-old.

“In previous seasons we had fallen at the quarters and semi-finals and if we had gone out again it would have posed a really big problem for us. It was a major step forward.

“We didn’t do ourselves justice in the two years afterwards even if we were beaten by the eventual winners.

“Last season I felt we should have reached the final because we were a better side than Leverkusen but overall we feel positive about the way we have performed in Europe over the past two seasons. We haven’t lost many games, especially away from home and we have nothing to fear.”

Juventus expect to be almost back to full strength after the ’flu virus which ravaged their squad for last week’s Old Trafford encounter.

Only long-term injury victim Alessandro del Piero and suspended midfielder Alessio Tacchinardi are likely to be missing, meaning United will have to face up to the likes of Gianluigi Buffon, Lilian Thuram and Marco di Vaio, who all failed to make the team sheet for Wednesday’s 2-1 reverse, which left United within a single point of a quarter-final spot.

It’s Ferguson who has the problems this time, with both Wes Brown and Paul Scholes left at home to nurse hamstring and groin problems in readiness for Sunday’s Worthington Cup final encounter with Liverpool in Cardiff.

Back-up keeper Roy Carroll was also left at home nursing a slight injury.