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NICKY Butt is set for his first match action for three months on Tuesday.
The Manchester United midfielder hasn't played any competitive football since a substitutes' appearance for England against Macedonia at Southampton in October.
Butt needed ankle surgery following his international duty and has suffered setbacks on his road to recovery as the ankle kept swelling up.
However, Reds boss Sir Alex Ferguson is expecting to give him a run-out next week in the reserves at Altrincham's Moss Lane ground.
"Nicky began football training with us in the latter part of this week and all being well he'll play against Sheffield Wednesday reserves next Tuesday evening. I have pencilled it in for him and see how he goes," Fergie told M.E.N. Sport. Butt suffered the injury playing for England in Slovakia.
His ankle swelled the morning after the match in Bratislava but he appeared as a sub against Macedonia. On his return to Carrington the problem refused to go away and eventually Butt needed exploratory surgery.
The ankle was cleaned out but his rehabilitation has been dogged by so many setbacks that the 27-year-old finally gave up on making targets.
"I had been saying for the last five or six weeks `it will be a week,' then my ankle kept flaring up. When I spoke to the gaffer and the physio, they told me to take it easy," Butt said.
"I did that and then kept upping and upping my work again.
"It has been getting to the point where I was ready for hanging myself!
"I am an impatient person but I had to take it easy because, if it did flare up again, it would have been another two or three months out and that could be the end of the season. So I needed to take my time."
However, Butt is now set to test the ankle in match action at Moss Lane. He is the last of United's crippling list of long-term injury-hit players to return.
But if he comes through his reserve team comeback, then Fergie's squad would be back up to full strength in time for next month's return to Champions League action.
NICKY Butt is set for his first match action for three months on Tuesday.
The Manchester United midfielder hasn't played any competitive football since a substitutes' appearance for England against Macedonia at Southampton in October.
Butt needed ankle surgery following his international duty and has suffered setbacks on his road to recovery as the ankle kept swelling up.
However, Reds boss Sir Alex Ferguson is expecting to give him a run-out next week in the reserves at Altrincham's Moss Lane ground.
"Nicky began football training with us in the latter part of this week and all being well he'll play against Sheffield Wednesday reserves next Tuesday evening. I have pencilled it in for him and see how he goes," Fergie told M.E.N. Sport. Butt suffered the injury playing for England in Slovakia.
His ankle swelled the morning after the match in Bratislava but he appeared as a sub against Macedonia. On his return to Carrington the problem refused to go away and eventually Butt needed exploratory surgery.
The ankle was cleaned out but his rehabilitation has been dogged by so many setbacks that the 27-year-old finally gave up on making targets.
"I had been saying for the last five or six weeks `it will be a week,' then my ankle kept flaring up. When I spoke to the gaffer and the physio, they told me to take it easy," Butt said.
"I did that and then kept upping and upping my work again.
"It has been getting to the point where I was ready for hanging myself!
"I am an impatient person but I had to take it easy because, if it did flare up again, it would have been another two or three months out and that could be the end of the season. So I needed to take my time."
However, Butt is now set to test the ankle in match action at Moss Lane. He is the last of United's crippling list of long-term injury-hit players to return.
But if he comes through his reserve team comeback, then Fergie's squad would be back up to full strength in time for next month's return to Champions League action.
