Republic of Ireland under-21 international Paul Tierney could make his Premiership debut for Manchester United when they play Middlesbrough tomorrow.
The 19-year-old is expected to play should regular left back Mikael Silvestre fail to recover from a neck injury.
Centre-half John O'Shea replaced Silvestre when he suffered the injury against Sunderland but Tierney is viewed as a natural left back and a more suitable replacement.
Nicky Butt (toe) faces a late test, but Paul Scholes (ankle), Gary Neville (foot), Wes Brown (ankle) and Fabien Barthez (hip) are definitely out.
New signing Ricardo Lopez joins the squad for the first time since his £1.5 million move from Real Valladolid.
Provisional squad:Carroll, Ricardo, Williams, P Neville, Ferdinand, Blanc, O'Shea, Silvestre, Tierney, Beckham, Keane, Veron, Butt, Giggs, Stewart, Pugh, van Nistelrooy, Solskjaer, Forlan.
