Juan Sebastian Veron is set to replace Nicky Butt in the Manchester United line-up for their Champions League opener against Maccabi Haifa tomorrow night.
Butt sustained a bruised hip during Saturday's 1-0 defeat at Leeds and is not considered fit enough but it will be a straight swap for Ferguson as Veron has recovered from the slight groin strain which kept him out of the game at Elland Road.
Scottish Under-21 international Michael Stewart, who could have provided cover for Butt, has been ruled out for a fortnight after twisting an ankle in training.
Gary Neville and David May are both in the squad with Neville hoping to be involved in his first senior game since April. The England full-back broke a bone in his foot in the Champions League semi-final against Bayer Leverkusen which ruled him out of the World Cup, and has not played since then.
Ferguson is also contemplating changes up front with Ruud van Nistelrooy, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Diego Forlan in contention.
Team(from): Barthez, P Neville, Blanc, Ferdinand, Silvestre, Beckham, Veron, Giggs, Solskjaer, van Nistelrooy, Forlan, Chadwick, G Neville, O'Shea, May, Tierney, Pugh, Ricardo.