Vidic given all-clear to face Kiev

KIEV, Ukraine -- Serbian central defender Nemanja Vidic has convinced Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson that he should play in Tuesday's Champions League clash away to Dynamo Kiev.

The former Spartak Moscow player sat out Saturday's 4-1 victory at Aston Villa after suffering concussion during the Premier League win over Wigan immediately before the international break.

However, he has made a good recovery and will now partner Rio Ferdinand in the heart of the United defense.

Injury-plagued French striker Louis Saha definitely misses the tie with a long-term knee problem and fellow casualties Gary Neville and Owen Hargreaves also stayed behind.

England striker Wayne Rooney, who scored twice against Villa and was also on target in England's Euro 2008 defeat against Russia in Moscow last week, will partner Carlos Tevez in attack.

A third successive victory after 1-0 wins against Sporting Lisbon and Roma would virtually guarantee United a place in the knock-out stage.

United flew to Kiev a day earlier than normal, taking their own chefs and dieticians with them.

"The travel is always the biggest worry in these situations," said Ferguson. "Ukraine is further away than most other journeys around Europe."

Senegal defender Pape Diakhate, Guinea forward Ismael Bangoura and Ukraine midfielder Taras Mykhalyk are expected to return for Dynamo, but former Tottenham forward Serhiy Rebrov is an absentee.

Dynamo warmed up for Tuesday night with a 1-0 win over strugglers Zakarpattia on Saturday in the Ukrainian Championship.

But Kiev are bottom of Group F after losing their first two games -- 2-0 at Roma and 2-1 at home to Sporting.

Glasgow Rangers are without Jean-Claude Darcheville and Brahim Hemdani for their formidable home clash against Barcelona on Tuesday.

Darcheville is still struggling with a hamstring problem while Hemdani misses the Group E tie in Glasgow with a groin problem that kept him out of the weekend's 3-0 win against Celtic.

UEFA Cup favorites Bayern Munich will probably have to do without midfielder Franck Ribery for their group game against Red Star Belgrade on Thursday.

The French international hurt his thigh in Saturday's 2-1 win at Bochum that saw Bayern extend their lead at the top of the Bundesliga. E-mail to a friend