Boss explains Neville absence

Gary Neville missed Thursday's Reserve match because he was on standby for the squad to face Aston Villa, Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed.

The United manager wanted to have Neville ready in case Wes Brown suffered an injury on England duty, banishing fears that the club captain had suffered another injury setback.

"Gary's done very well in training this week," Sir Alex told his weekly press conference. "We thought we'd see how Wes was when he came back (from England duty).

"If Gary had played last night, then Wes had come back tired, I may have wanted to play Gary tomorrow (against Villa)."

As Brown returned from France in fine fettle, Neville will not play a part against Martin O'Neill's side. He will feature in Monday's Reserve team clash with Newcastle instead.

Sir Alex is clearly buoyed by his skipper's ongoing recovery, however, and a first-team return cannot be far away.

"Gary's improving really well," he said. "He's done a full week's training with us at a really good level, a good standard, and I think he's starting to get nearer."

article source : Steve Bartram www.manutd.com