Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand faces a late test to prove his fitness for Wednesday's Champions League quarter-final, second leg against Roma.

The 29-year-old limped off late in the 2-2 draw with Middlesbrough at the weekend and had to leave the Riverside with his foot in a protective plastic casing.

Initial fears that he had broken a metatarsal and was facing the rest of the season out were allayed by an MRI scan on Monday and the stopper may now even return in time for the Roma game.

Manager Alex Ferguson said: "I am hoping Rio will play. His scan was clear, that was the important thing.

"Therefore we are hoping we can get him fit to face Roma.

"We will report tomorrow [Wednesday] at 11am, so he will have to do something at that time."

United are already missing central defender Nemanja Vidic with a knee injury he picked up in the first leg, although Gary Neville and Mikael Silvestre have both trained this week following long standing injury problems and could provide cover for Ferguson.

Should Ferdinand not pass his late fitness test, John O'Shea, Wes Brown and Gerard Pique are also available to deputise with Pique the most likely candidate to partner Brown, with O'Shea or Neville set to play right-back.

"Pique came on and did absolutely terrific, he was absolutely marvellous and I think that helped us actually," United boss Sir Alex Ferguson said.

Nani is set to return to the squad from a thigh injury and Paul Scholes, if selected, will make his 100th Champions League appearance.

Meanwhile, Francesco Totti has been left out of Roma's squad with a thigh problem.

The Giallorossi captain missed the weekend's 3-2 win over Genoa and his name did not feature on the squad list published on the club's official website.

Roma boss Luciano Spalletti had said after Saturday's win in Rome that it might be better for Totti to miss the United game and fully recover for next weekend's Serie A clash at Udinese.

Second-placed Roma are four points behind Internazionale in the race for the Italian title with the domestic championship now taking priority over the Champions League given the unlikelihood of overhauling United.

Eurosport / Reuters