One week after scoring the decisive goal in their English FA Cup semi-final replay against Arsenal at Villa Park, a contribution acclaimed as one of the great moments of the modern era, Ryan Giggs is almost certain not to be repeating the feat this evening in Manchester United's Champions League semi-final against Juventus.
Giggs was put in plaster immediately after the Arsenal game to protect his injured left ankle and missed last Saturday's comfortable 3-0 victory over Sheffield Wednesday.
Yesterday he boarded United's flight to Turin, walking comfortably according to some, limping according to others. But at United's training session at the Stadio delle Alpi last night it became apparent that while Giggs may be able to walk without hindrance, running at and tackling some of the toughest defenders in Europe is a job too far for a tender ankle.
Bluff is always an element on these occasions, but while Alex Ferguson's new assistant Steve McClaren put the United squad through a vigorous session, Giggs sat on a water bucket, a forlorn figure. Considering United's goalscoring imperative tonight, it was a gloomy sight.
Naturally Giggs's omission would represent a serious boost to Juventus players who have consistently identified him as their most troublesome opponent. It also means that Ferguson goes into possibly the most momentous match in his 13 years at Old Trafford without a full-strength side and needing to make adjustments.
However, as it is 24 games and over four months since United last lost a game, Ferguson's mood yesterday was sternly upbeat despite the understandable anxiety surrounding Giggs.
"I am waiting on Ryan and it is a problem for us," Ferguson said on arrival in Italy. "I have a team in my mind but we're going to have to wait. He could be on the bench, but if he does something positive (in training), then we'll look again.
"When he scores a goal like he did last Wednesday then it brings optimism. That's why you would hope to have a player like Ryan available to you. But I've got good options."
Second guessing Ferguson on what his favoured options are is an exercise in futility, but it seems that the obvious straight swap of Jesper Blomqvist for Giggs may not be his preferred response on a night when United know they will have to be defiant defensively, while simultaneously working for the goal they must score if they are to stand a chance of reaching the final.
Thus Nicky Butt may find himself on the left side of a four-man midfield featuring David Beckham, Roy Keane and Paul Scholes. Butt's defensive qualities could release Scholes to scamper into the holes Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole hope to create.
The latter pair may have registered 47 goals so far this season, but neither has scored since Cole nicked two at Newcastle over a month ago. Nor did either have an outstanding game in the first leg. In fact Yorke described it yesterday as: "My worst performance since I arrived at United".
However, given that only Dynamo Kiev's Andrei Shevchenko has scored more than Yorke in this season's Champions League and that United have struck away in every round, both Yorke and Cole sounded confident about their potential, though Yorke was honest in his assessment of a United victory - "50-50," he said.
And no matter how well United attack, they must stop Juventus doing the same. Edgar Davids and the zig-zagging Zinedine Zidane were awesome at Old Trafford and, even if they under-perform, Didier Deschamps can always be relied upon. To this point in his career Deschamps has been so reliable he has 13 major medals; not bad for a "water carrier."
Zidane will be closely marked rather than man-marked. Ronny Johnsen may be allotted a role in that, although he will have to be careful because along with Scholes, Keane and Denis Irwin, he is on one yellow card and if booked tonight would miss what could be United's first European Cup final since 1968.
They defeated Benfica at Wembley then, and one Juventus statistic regarding that Benfica team offers hope and fear in equal measure for United. When the Lisbon club defeated Juve in Turin in the 1968 semi-final it was the last time Juventus were knocked out of the European Cup at home. Arsenal are the only English club to have won in Turin.
That startling record could see them reach a fourth consecutive final.
"We are capable of scoring away from home and Juventus know that," said Ferguson. But the manager also knows that United's task is of historic proportions.
