Jones to return for United

Phil Jones makes his long-awaited seasonal bow for Manchester United against Galatasaray on Tuesday evening with Sir Alex Ferguson accepting injuries are part of the maturing process in someone so young.

Even though he is now in his fourth season as a Premier League player and also has five caps to his name, Jones is still only 20. However, his recent progress has been hampered by a summer back injury, which was followed by knee surgery after a pre-season training setback.

Jones has finally recovered, and Ferguson insists he is not worried by the extended spell on the sidelines, saying: "It's a big day for Phil Jones. He's been out all season but has done enough training to make sure his fitness is okay."

He went on: "They've all been different types of injuries and because he is young, he's still to develop physically.

"He's only 20 years of age so there's plenty of time for him."

Despite leaving most of his senior players at home, including Shinji Kagawa, who will be out for another four weeks with the knee injury he originally sustained last month, Ferguson vowed United have enough experience to cope with the unique demands of Tuesday night's game.

"Most of them will have experience of big games and big crowds," said Ferguson.

"Obviously for Nick Powell it's completely different - he's played in front of 76,000 as a substitute but this will be his first European away game.

"It will be a big day for him but he has the temperament, which is important."