Solskjaer nears return from injury

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will end his five-month injury misery by playing for the reserves against Aston Villa next week.

Solskjaer, 31 next month, has been out of action since having knee surgery last September.

The Norwegian has missed 26 first-team games since his last appearance, the 5-0 defeat of Panathinaikos in the Champions League, in which he scored before being replaced at half-time.

United had initially expected Solskjaer to miss just three months. And his slow recovery contributed to Sir Alex Ferguson's decision to splash out £12.8m for Fulham's Louis Saha last week to beef up his attacking options.

However, Ferguson has revealed he expects Solskjaer to return for the second string against Villa at Altrincham's Moss Lane ground a week today.

He said: 'Ole is doing fine and he has trained with the first team this week. He will get a game next week when the reserves play Aston Villa at home. He will definitely be OK for then.'