Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson says Rio Ferdinand will start Wednesday's Champions League quarter-final second leg against Porto.
Ferdinand missed last week's 2-2 draw because of a groin injury.
"It gets us back the partnership between Rio and Nemanja Vidic, which has been the cornerstone of our great defensive performances," said Ferguson.
Anderson and full-back Rafael da Silva, who have both been carrying injuries, are also in United's squad.
The return of Ferdinand, who has also had to contend with a niggling back injury, is a welcome piece of good news for Ferguson.
United went 14 games without conceding a goal earlier in the season, but injuries and suspensions in defence have seen them let the opposition score in their last five matches.
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How important is Ferdinand's return for Man Utd?
"We think Rio is fit," said Ferguson.
"He trained on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and he will start (on Wednesday).
"There is a lot of quality in Rio's game, so he is obviously going to make a difference."
Porto have the edge - Ferguson
United are aiming to become the first English team to beat Porto on their own ground.
The Portuguese side, who are unbeaten in 20 matches and are closing in on a fourth domestic league title in a row, are missing just one player, defender Jorge Fucile.
But Porto will have coach Jesualdo Ferreira watching on from the stands at the Estadio do Dragao as he serves a touchline ban imposed by Uefa.
Ferreira was initially suspended for two matches after he gestured toward the referee when a Porto goal was disallowed during an earlier Champions League match against Atletico Madrid on 24 February.
Man Utd (from): Van der Sar, Foster, Kuszczak; Neville, Evra, Ferdinand, Vidic, Rafael, Fabio, O'Shea, J. Evans; Ronaldo, Anderson, Scholes, Gibson, Carrick, Park, Nani, Giggs; Rooney, Tevez, Berbatov, Macheda.
