United wait on van Nistelrooy

Alex Ferguson will take a late check on top scorer Ruud van Nistelrooy before deciding whether to pitch the 12-goal striker into Monday’s Barclays Premiership clash with Fulham.

The prolific Dutchman has missed the last two games after finally falling victim to a problematic injury just below the calf, but he is due to return to training today and could play as United look to record a fifth successive league win.

Wes Brown (Achilles) is definitely out after limping out of Wednesday night’s Champions League defeat to Fenerbahce, joining Kleberson (ankle) and Louis Saha (knee) on the sidelines.

Provisional squad: Carroll, Howard, G Neville, P Neville, Ferdinand, Silvestre, O’Shea, Heinze, Fortune, Ronaldo, Bellion, Keane, Scholes, Djemba-Djemba, Fletcher, Giggs, van Nistelrooy, Rooney, Smith.