Fergie: Rio is a huge doubt

Sir Alex Ferguson does not expect Rio Ferdinand to be fit for Manchester United's European tie against FC Porto.

Ferdinand missed United's 3-2 win over Aston Villa on Sunday after picking up an injury playing for England against Ukraine in a World Cup qualifier.

The centre-half had also been struggling with a back problem prior to the England fixture and is unlikely to have recovered for the visit of Porto.

Ferguson will welcome back Nemanja Vidic, Wayne Rooney and Paul Scholes for the European tie after the trio sat out the victory over Villa.

Park Ji-sung is also likely to come back into the starting line-up, while Ferguson will make a late decision on the fitness of Ryan Giggs.

"I don't think any of the injured players will be back against Porto," the United boss told MUTV. "But we do have the suspended players back which is good.

"'Vida' will play alongside Jonny Evans at the back with John O'Shea moving to right-back.

"Rooney and Scholes are also available which will give us a bit more penetration and experience, and Ji-sung Park will also be ready so I've got some good options for Tuesday.

"I'll have to assess how Ryan is after playing the 90 minutes against Villa.

"It's a big ask for someone at 35 years of age to play another game two days later at the kind of level we play."