By James Eve
MILAN, May 2 - AC Milan captain Paolo Maldini is
all but out of Wednesday's Champions League semi-final second
leg match against Manchester United at San Siro due to injury.
The 38-year-old defender, who is aiming to reach the final
of Europe's top club competition for the eighth time, is
struggling to shake off a knee injury he picked up in Milan's
3-2 first leg defeat at Old Trafford last week.
"There are very slim chances of having him (fit for the
match)...I will decide on him in the evening," coach Carlo
Ancelotti told the Gazzetta dello Sport Web site
(www.gazzetta.it).
Aside from Maldini, Ancelotti has a full-strength team at
his disposal. If his captain fails to recover, Ancelotti is
expected to field Daniele Bonera in his place.
While Maldini stands a slim chance of starting the game,
United captain Gary Neville has already been ruled out by an
ankle injury.
The Premier League leaders' injury problems in defence could
be eased, however, by the return of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja
Vidic.
The pair missed the first leg due to a groin strain and
broken collar bone respectively, but flew out to Milan after
coming through late fitness tests.
United manager Alex Ferguson will hope at least one of them
can start, allowing him to move Argentine international Gabriel
Heinze from the centre of the defence into his favoured
left-back position.
Louis Saha could also give United an extra attacking option
on the bench after recovering from a hamstring injury.
The winners of the tie will meet Liverpool in the May 23
final in Athens after beating Chelsea on penalties in the other
semi-final tie which ended 1-1 on aggregate on Tuesday.