Brown recovery cheers Ferguson

Wes Brown could be back in Manchester United’s colours at the beginning of next month.

The 24-year-old defender different is now doing “bits of training” as he continues his recovery after damaging knee ligaments.

Brown suffered the injury on the final day of last season when United clinched the title.

His return to Carrington is a bonus for manager Sir Alex Ferguson, because Rio Ferdinand has a potential suspension hanging over him.

“Wes started doing bits of training with the young players last week,” Ferguson told the Manchester Evening News.

“He will be continuing with that as well. He is making quicker progress than we expected.

“We anticipated it would be the new year before we could think about a comeback – but now we hope we can bring that forward.

“I think we will now be looking for a reserve match for him at the beginning of the next month.

“If all goes well I could have him in the first-team squad for the festive period.

“It is smashing news, and we are all pleased because he’s had a tough time.”

Meanwhile, Gary Neville is struggling to be fit for the match against Blackburn on Saturday after suffering a recurrence of an Achilles problem.