Sir Alex Ferguson explains Darren Fletcher's inclusion

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed that Darren Fletcher has been training with his teammates for the past fortnight.

The Scotland international has not featured for United since the middle of December because of a chronic inflammatory bowel condition.

However, he was unexpectedly named among the United substitutes for this evening's pre-season friendly against Aberdeen.

"It's been quiet progress for the boy," Ferguson told MUTV. "He joined in training a couple of weeks ago and it's one of those situations where you say 'Let's see how he does' because he has had a really difficult time in the last year. Therefore, I wasn't really placing too much hope in it but let's see how he does.

"He's got to the stage now where he feels he needs a game. I let him join Scotland this week but he wanted a game so I said: 'Come to Aberdeen and join up afterwards'. I'll give him 20-25 minutes."

The 28-year-old joined the Red Devils as a trainee in 1995.