Sir Alex Ferguson is hoping to make Nemanja Vidic's birthday weekend by declaring him fit to face Aston Villa, while Edwin van der Sar has confirmed he could play.

Edwin van der Sar is hoping to make his comeback from a toe injury against Aston Villa on Saturday.

The Dutch goalkeeper, who turns 37 at the end of the month, feels he has overcome the injury that forced him out of the 1-0 win over Birmingham City three weeks ago.

Sheffield United manager Bryan Robson is confident that loan signing Phil Bardsley will be a sound addition to his squad.

The Blades have struggled in the Championship after their controversial relegation from the top flight last term, but Robbo is hopeful that Bardsley bring solidity to his side's backline.

Owen Hargreaves hopes to finally resume his promising start to life with United against Aston Villa this weekend.

Injuries have restricted the England midfielder to just three appearances since joining from Bayern Munich, but he hopes to finally make his return at Villa Park.

"I hope this is it for me injury-wise. I have missed enough games," Hargreaves told The Sun.

Nemanja Vidic has warned of the pressures international duty can place on players in the Barclays Premier League.

Most players away on international duty will have boarded flights back to Manchester in the early hours of Thursday morning, but Friday's training session at Carrignton will be the only full run-out they'll have before Saturday's trip to Villa Park.

Wayne Rooney was left "gutted" after England threw away a single-goal lead in Moscow last night.

Ryan Giggs today moved a step closer to breaking the Manchester United all-time appearance record after signing a new one-year contract to keep him at Old Trafford until the end of next season.

The 33-year-old has played 727 matches for United since his debut against Everton in March 1991. Only Sir Bobby Charlton, with 759 appearances, has played more games for the club.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney will both be part of a promotion clip for Bollywood football film 'Goal'.

Indian actor John Abraham plays the role of a footballer inspired by the English Premier League champions.

Sheffield United are poised to complete the loan signing of defender Phil Bardsley from Manchester United.

With full-back Derek Geary ruled out for up to six weeks, manager Bryan Robson has acted quickly to help fill the void.

Bardsley spent last season on loan at Aston Villa, but failed to do enough to secure a permanent switch to Villa Park.

United midfielder Darren Fletcher is in line for a surprise comeback for Scotland on Wednesday.

The 23-year-old suffered a broken leg while playing for the national team against France last month.

But Scotland boss Alex McLeish has called him into his squad for the Euro 2008 qualifier against Georgia.