United ponder Van Nistelrooij option

By Alex O'Henley in Manchester

Manchester United FC manager Sir Alex Ferguson has a major decision to make as he prepares to take on Italian title-holders AC Milan in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League first knockout round.

Three-month absence
Ruud van Nistelrooij has recovered from the calf injury that has kept him out for three months, and although Sir Alex would not confirm whether the Dutch striker is likely to start, he has no fears about fielding a player who has scored 34 goals in 37 Champions League games for United.

'Best in Europe'
"He is the best in Europe," said Sir Alex. "His record since joining United is incredible. He's a big-game player, there's no doubt about that. It is just a question mark of having been out for three months, whether he can cope with the game early on. It might be better to bring him on as a substitute."

Fine form
United, who last played Milan in the semi-finals of the 1969 European Champion Clubs' Cup, are on a fine run which has seen them lose just once in 17 matches. Centre-back Rio Ferdinand believes the challenge now is to translate their Premiership form into Champions League success.

New consistency
"The team spirit here is phenomenal and we're now seeing the consistency we maybe lacked earlier in the season," he said. "Hopefully that will continue and we can take it into the Champions League, but it's definitely good for us to have people like Ruud and Louis Saha coming back into the squad."

Dutch duel
The game could also feature a contest between Van Nistelrooij and fellow countryman - and former United player - Jaap Stam. Sir Alex is convinced the experienced centre-back, who left United to join S.S. Lazio in summer 2001, will start for Milan, but the Scot is confident the current blend of youth and experience in his squad marks them out as one of the Champions League favourites.

'Fantastic chance'
"I think this year we are particularly capable of doing it," Sir Alex declared. "Each week we see the maturity of Ronaldo and [Wayne] Rooney, and the return of Van Nistelrooij together with the form of [Roy] Keane, [Paul] Scholes and [Ryan] Giggs gives us a fantastic chance. Milan will come here and try to win the match. They know we will attack, so it might be a more open game than people think."

Maldini memories
Old Trafford holds special memories for Milan captain Paolo Maldini, who lifted the trophy there in 2003 following a penalty shoot-out victory against Juventus FC, and he is looking forward to playing in the stadium again. "When we arrived here today we went to the dressing room and sought out the places where we changed before the final," he said. "Obviously I have a lot of good memories, but it won't be the same this time because we won't have half the stadium supporting us."

Strikers out
The six-time European champions will also have to do without the services of Andriy Shevchenko, who fractured a cheekbone in Saturday's 1-0 success against Cagliari Calcio. The striker scored the winning penalty in the 2003 final but coach Carlo Ancelotti insists his squad can cope without Shevchenko and Filippo Inzaghi, ruled out with a broken hand.

Ancelotti thinks positive
"I don't think it's appropriate to worry about who is not here," said Ancelotti. "What we have to do is focus on the players who are here and concentrate on getting the right result."