Ronaldo back for United

Cristiano Ronaldo could return after suspension as Alex Ferguson attempts to freshen up his Manchester United squad for tomorrow’s trip to Birmingham.

The Portuguese winger may replace Ryan Giggs as Ferguson spreads the workload across his squad over the busy festive period.

Mikael Silvestre (thigh) is again unlikely to be involved but the United boss is confident Wes Brown (groin) and Paul Scholes (virus) will shrug off their minor problems.

Provisional squad: Van der Sar, Howard, Neville, Bardsley, Brown, Ferdinand, O’Shea, Richardson, Ronaldo, Park, Fletcher, Smith, Scholes, Giggs, Van Nistelrooy, Saha, Rooney, Rossi.