United hopeful over Ferdinand's fitness

(CNN) -- Manchester United hope that England defender Rio Ferdinand will recover from a foot injury in time for Wednesday's Champions League clash with Roma at Old Trafford.

Ferdinand limped off during the second half of Sunday's 2-2 draw with Middlesbrough, and it was feared that he would be ruled out of the second leg of the quarterfinal tie.

United manager Alex Ferguson confirmed at his pre-match press conference on Tuesday that the center-back should be fit to face the Italians, with a final decision to be made on Wednesday morning.

"I am hoping Rio will play. His scan was clear, that was the important thing," Ferguson said.

"Therefore we are hoping we can get him fit to face Roma. We will report tomorrow at 11 a.m., so he will have to do something at that time."

However, if Ferdinand is not passed fit, then captain Gary Neville and versatile French defender Mikael Silvestre are expected to return to the team.

Both are in the squad, with right-back Neville hoping to play his first outing this season if Ferguson switches Wes Brown back to a more familiar central position to replace Ferdinand.

"Gary and Mikael will be involved," Ferguson added. "Both won't start, but one may start depending on Rio's situation.

"I'm hopeful that both players will get part of a game. The good thing is they are back and training very well. The best news we've had with Gary is that he has no interruptions.

"I'm very pleased with Gary's progress and he has the ability to play in a match like Wednesday's. We'll make the decision in the morning."

United are already without Ferdinand's usual defensive partner Nemanja Vidic, who has a knee injury, as the Premier League leaders seek to build on the 2-0 victory in Rome.

Another option is for Brown to partner Gerard Pique in central defense.

Paul Scholes is set to make his 100th Champions League appearance while fellow midfielder Nani could return to the squad after three games out with a thigh problem.

Scotland midfielder Darren Fletcher (knee) and France striker Louis Saha (hamstring) are still out with injuries.

Ferguson said that he might make some changes with English rivals Arsenal visiting Old Trafford this Sunday.

"I've got to play a team that is going to win. It's difficult to leave players like Cristiano Ronaldo out because of the form he is in," he said.

"There will be one or two changes, but ones that we hope are sensible and will give us the result we want."

Roma face being eliminated by United at the quarterfinal stage for a second straight season -- but will not want a repeat of last year's 7-1 rout at Old Trafford.

"We've forgotten it," striker Mirko Vucinic said Tuesday. "We showed it in October when we went back there (in the group stage), when we certainly didn't deserve to lose 1-0."

Roma coach Luciano Spalletti will rely on Daniele De Rossi and Simone Perrotta to fill the void left by talismanic forward Francesco Totti who has a thigh problem.

"Totti is a top player and this cannot be denied," midfielder Rodrigo Taddei said. "But we have had to play without him already this campaign and we have taken important results.

"It is understandable that others may find in Totti's absence an excuse for defeat."

Taddei is set to form an attacking midfield unit alongside Perrotta and Mancini, behind Vucinic in the lone-striker role.

"We're going to Manchester to play our game, with heart and spirit," Vucinic said. "The chance of victory? Fifty-50, but the important thing will be playing with our heads and trying to always stay calm." E-mail to a friend

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