Ferguson facing dilemma over Ronaldo

Alex Ferguson may be tempted to change his mind and throw Cristiano Ronaldo immediately back into the fray following the teenager’s return from the Olympics.

The Manchester United manager declared two weeks ago that he would need to give the 19-year-old winger two months off to recover injuries and other selection problems means that Ferguson may simply not be able to afford to leave out such a key player – especially as Ronaldo has expressed his desire to play for the club again as soon as possible.

The winger became one of Ferguson’s most important players in the second half of the last campaign – he was voted the player of the season and was also the star of the FA Cup final before going on to show for Portugal during Euro 2004 that he has become one of the best players in Europe.

Ronaldo only arrived back at United’s Carrington training ground today but if Ferguson is happy with his physical condition then there is every chance he could be on the bench against newly-promoted Norwich at Old Trafford tomorrow, and perhaps even in a starting line-up.

Ferguson said: “We don’t know yet because we don’t know his physical condition. He had been complaining of a groin injury before he went to the tournament and he missed some sessions with the Portuguese team. We will have to assess him.

“He did surprise us with how well he did last season, because of his age. But some young boys, the ones with great ability and if they have a good temperament which Ronaldo has, they can do that.”

Ferguson rates Norwich’s manager Nigel Worthington and believes the Canaries will be looking to make a name for themselves at Old Trafford.

The United manager added: “We never take anyone for granted. You have to remember they are a team desperate to do well. Some of them will never have played at Old Trafford.

“It’s a big day for them. When West Brom were promoted two seasons ago they held us until the 85th minute in their first game and it could be the case tomorrow.

“Norwich will be very committed, they could set out their stall to make it very difficult for us but that’s something we have to handle but we have the experience to do so.

“Nigel Worthington has done a fantastic job. He’s a young manager who had a good spell at Blackpool and has gone to do well at Norwich where it is not an easy job for they don’t have a lot of money.

“I watched a lot of their games last season, they play good football and they deserved to go up and they are in the big league now.”

Ferguson will have to judge whether to continue with his current policy of playing captain Roy Keane at centre-back with John O’Shea in central midfield. The ploy worked well against Dinamo Bucharest in the Champions League qualifier 10 days ago but was not as successful in the 1-0 defeat by Chelsea.

United continue to be without eight senior players but things are looking up for Ferguson as Darren Fletcher completes his suspension tomorrow, Kleberson resumed training today and French striker Louis Saha will be back kicking a ball next week.