The Telegraph:
Gary Neville had a comeback to forget as the Manchester United captain ended his seven-month injury nightmare with a 57-minute reserve team run-out.
The England defender lasted just 19 minutes of the Manchester Senior Cup clash with Stockport last night before picking up a yellow card for a clumsy lunge on County teenager Danny Ellis.
Then eight minutes later Neville, 32, was slow to react when Ellis nipped in front of him to score from close range. And the United man - who was playing centre-back - was lucky to escape a second yellow and an embarrassing first-half dismissal after another late challenge, this time on striker Anthony Pilkington.
Neville has been sidelined since damaging ankle ligaments in a clash with Bolton's Gary Speed last March and has been forced to postpone a series of planned returns sparking concerns over his long-term fitness. And while the defender showed no signs of a recurrence of his injury problems, he looked distinctly ring rusty suggesting a first-team recall could be some way off.
But with Wes Brown filling in comfortably at right-back and youngster Danny Simpson in reserve, Ferguson will surely resist the temptation to rush Neville back too quickly.
Ferguson could ease the player back into his squad for next Wednesday's Champions League clash with Dynamo Kiev but is more likely to wait until the visit of Blackburn to Old Trafford the following Sunday.