Villarreal v Manchester United

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is undecided if he should play Cristiano Ronaldo in Tuesday's Champions League tie at Villarreal.

The winger limped out of Saturday's 0-0 draw at Aston Villa but has pleaded to play after training on Monday.

"It's a problem. I would rather leave him out," said Ferguson.

Darren Fletcher returns from a knee injury but Dimitar Berbatov and Gary Neville are out, while Tomasz Kuszczak replaces the rested Edwin van der Sar.

Ferguson said: "We are giving another goalkeeper an opportunity and experience. There is no better experience than a European tie away from home."

United need a point in Spain to reach the Champions League knockout stages and Ronaldo was initially rated as doubtful by Ferguson after he was substituted late on at Villa Park.

But United's boss has changed his tune and stated: "Cristiano got a lot of whacks on Saturday. He got a few cuts but nothing serious.

"When players show that enthusiasm to play you don't deter them you encourage it."

Striker Berbatov is missing the trip to Spain because of a hamstring injury picked up on international duty for Bulgaria last week.

Neville is still nursing a groin strain suffered in the Carling Cup win over QPR and is likely to be out of action for a couple of weeks.

Ferguson expects a rough ride against Villarreal, particularly from former United striker Giuseppe Rossi.

The Italian looks set to start but fellow strikers Nihat Kahveci and Joseba Llorente are out because of injuries, midfielder Diego Godin has a hamstring problem and Jozy Altidore is also unavailable.

"We think very highly of him. He was a fantastic young player for us," Ferguson said of Rossi.

"The problem was satisfying him with regards to first-team football. It was very difficult for me.

"When Villarreal made a good offer for him one of the conditions was that we had an option to buy him if they ever sold him.

"That is the situation. He is a Villarreal player and I am sure they want him to stay with them. He is doing very well."



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Manchester United (from): Foster, Kuszczak, Rafael, O'Shea, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evans, Evra, Ronaldo, Park, Anderson, Fletcher, Carrick, Giggs, Nani, Rooney, Tevez, Possebon, Gibson, Manucho.