Smith will start tackling
Manchester United striker Alan Smith will play from the start tonight at Crewe Alexandra.
The United star will make his long-awaited return to the starting line-up in the Carling Cup third-round tie - eight months after breaking his ankle at Liverpool.
Despite the seriousness of the injury, Smith insists he will go into every tackle with no fear.
He said: "There's no mental problem for me to overcome because the way I suffered the injury was so innocuous.
"It was not in a tackle so when I go in for a challenge, I'm not thinking about my leg."
United won last season's final against Wigan at the Millennium Stadium.
Smith admits his sole focus now is on helping them retain the trophy.
He said: "The more silverware we win, the better it is for everyone.
"We won the Carling Cup last season and want to make sure we do it again, so we'll be taking the game seriously.
"There are players who are fighting for first-team places and those, like myself who are coming back from injury, so it is a vital game for us."
Tomasz Kuszczak, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Kieran Richardson are all certain to be involved as are Mikael Silvestre and Gabriel Heinze.
The United star will make his long-awaited return to the starting line-up in the Carling Cup third-round tie - eight months after breaking his ankle at Liverpool.
Despite the seriousness of the injury, Smith insists he will go into every tackle with no fear.
He said: "There's no mental problem for me to overcome because the way I suffered the injury was so innocuous.
"It was not in a tackle so when I go in for a challenge, I'm not thinking about my leg."
United won last season's final against Wigan at the Millennium Stadium.
Smith admits his sole focus now is on helping them retain the trophy.
He said: "The more silverware we win, the better it is for everyone.
"We won the Carling Cup last season and want to make sure we do it again, so we'll be taking the game seriously.
"There are players who are fighting for first-team places and those, like myself who are coming back from injury, so it is a vital game for us."
Tomasz Kuszczak, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Kieran Richardson are all certain to be involved as are Mikael Silvestre and Gabriel Heinze.
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