Manchester United's selection has just been announced, and in addition to confirming a number of notable absences, there are two "surprise" inclusions. Forgive the punctuation, because Nani and Javier Hernández are not huge surprises, but under the circumstances, their inclusions are still noteworthy.
Manchester United FC Vs. Marseille, 2011 UEFA Champions League, Lineup: Nani, Javier Hernández In; Fletcher, Vidic Out Of Starting XI
Nani is making his first appearance since suffering (what can only be termed as) a wound at the boot of Jamie Carragher nine days ago at Anfield. He gets the call at right wing over Antonio Valencia, who makes the bench.
Javier Hernández seems to be firming up a true rotation at forward for Alex Ferguson. Dimitar Berbatov, despite leading the Premier League in goals, is on the bench, just as he was for recent matches against Arsenal and Chelsea.
But the main news from United's selection is the omissions. We knew Rio Ferdinand would be out. Nemanja Vidic's exclusion broke before the lineups. Also gone is Darren Fletcher, who would have been an automatic inclusion in midfield.
Manchester United, Starting XI: Van der Sar / O’Shead, Smalling, Brown, Evra / Nani, Scholes, Carrick, Giggs / Rooney Hernández
Bench: Kuszazck, Rafael da Silva, Fabio da Silva, Gibson, Obertan, Valencia, Berbatov
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