Ruud to return

Ruud van Nistelrooy is set to return to the Manchester United line-up for tomorrow’s encounter with Chelsea at Old Trafford.

The Dutch striker has been plagued by knee and thigh problems in recent weeks but Sir Alex Ferguson has declared the 26-goal striker ready to return to action as the Red Devils look to retain their hopes of a second-placed Barclaycard Premiership finish.

Paul Scholes returns from a three-match ban, while Cristiano Ronaldo and Louis Saha are both available again.

The only definite absentee is skipper Roy Keane who is not expected to have recovered from a hamstring injury until next week.

Provisional squad: Howard, Carroll, G Neville, Brown, Silvestre, O’Shea, P Neville, Ronaldo, Fletcher, Djemba-Djemba, Butt, Kleberson, Giggs, Van Nistelrooy, Saha, Forlan.