With Gary Neville’s proposed date for his return to injury set back so many times, United fans began to worry whether their captain would ever be able to hold down a place in our team again. Like Ole Gunnar Solskjaer before him, would Neville be forced in to retirement because of his reoccurring injuries?

That question has seemingly been answered by the three 90 minute stints our skipper has enjoyed this season, against Villarreal, Chelsea and Bolton, getting better with every game.

Sir Alex Ferguson has sung Neville’s praises, claiming our captain has played convincingly in his games so far, but is he right?

“When you consider the way Gary has been plagued by injuries for 18 months, he has done brilliantly to come back so convincingly,” said Ferguson. “At one point I thought he would not make it back into the Premier League. But he has and all credit to him. He persevered and never lost faith, despite the succession of niggles and strains that followed his ankle injury. He is a role model for any player feeling down on his luck.”