Rooney and Vidic return for United

Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney and defender Nemanja Vidic should be fit for the Premier League leaders' trip to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

Rooney has been sidelined since injuring his ankle against West Bromwich Albion on New Year's Day, while captain Vidic was rested in last week's 1-0 win over Liverpool in the FA Cup.

"We have Wayne and Nemanja training, they should be fit for Sunday," Ferguson told a news conference.

"Edwin Van der Sar is a possible, he should be training, so really going into such a big game we have a good squad available to us, which is nice. We've had a week's rest, as have Tottenham, and it should be a really fantastic game."

Goalkeeper Van der Sar has been suffering from flu for the past two weeks and if he has not sufficiently recovered Tomasz Kusczak is likely to continue to deputise.

The trip to White Hart Lane is widely seen as unbeaten United's biggest challenge so far this season with fourth-placed Spurs eight points behind the leaders.

Ferguson had words of praise for Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp, who has turned the club's fortunes around since arriving in 2008 with the club bottom of the Premier League.

"I think that the development of Tottenham is an interesting one because I can't remember, and I'm sure I'm right, ever taking United to the Lane with them challenging for the league, I don't think I've ever done that," he said.

"Harry's great strength is his common sense about his management. He's a good judge of a footballer, but he doesn't confuse issues, he's straightforward and quite demanding of his players of what he asks them and that's down to the experience he's gathered over the years."