Hargreaves and Neville missing for United

Owen Hargreaves and Gary Neville were the big-name absentees for Manchester United as Alex Ferguson’s side headed to Denmark for the Champions League clash with Aalborg.

Hargreaves is struggling again with a knee injury that has bothered him since his arrival from Bayern Munich last season and has been left at home for more treatment.

However, Neville’s absence was not immediately explained by United officials.

The Red Devils captain seemed to come through Saturday’s win over Bolton unscathed after almost 18 months on the sidelines following major ankle surgery, plus hamstring and calf trouble.

His absence probably means an immediate recall for Wes Brown.

Otherwise, Ferguson had a full strength side as they look to kick-start the defence of their trophy, with Dimitar Berbatov, Carlos Tevez and Saturday’s goalscorers Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney vying for the striking slots.

Team (from): Van der Sar, Amos, Rafael, Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evans, Evra, O’Shea, Fletcher, Ronaldo, Anderson, Scholes, Park, Giggs, Nani, Gibson, Berbatov, Tevez, Rooney, Welbeck.