SOCCER - TEAM NEWS: Rio Ferdinand will sit out Manchester United's Barclays Premier League match against Middlesbrough at Old Trafford tonight.
The England defender suffered a back spasm before the side claimed a narrow victory at Stoke.
Patrice Evra is again ruled out through suspension while Dimitar Berbatov is pushing for a recall to the team after making an impact when he came off the bench.
Defender David Wheater is set to return to the Middlesbrough starting line-up after sitting through his side's St Stephen's Day defeat to Everton on the bench.
Gareth Southgate has a number of other options and may also choose to give Brazilian striker Afonso Alves a start after his forward line's laboured display against the Toffees.
But the game will definitely come too soon for French midfielder Didier Digard who failed a test on his groin injury prior to the Everton game and has now been ruled out until the New Year.
Teams:
Man Utd(from): Van der Sar, Kuszczak, Amos, Neville, Vidic, O'Shea, Evans, Rafael, Ronaldo, Anderson, Giggs, Park, Carrick, Nani, Scholes, Fletcher, Gibson, Berbatov, Rooney, Tevez, Welbeck.
Middlesbrough(from): Turnbull, Jones, McMahon, Taylor, Grounds, Pogatetz, Huth, Wheater, Bates, Hines, Williams, Arca, Walker, Downing, Johnson, O'Neil, Aliadiere, Tuncay, Alves, Mido, Emnes.
