A 21-man Manchester United squad fly to South Africa on Thursday afternoon for the pre-season training trip that will also see Sir Alex Ferguson’s men involved in the Vodacom Challenge.

The Red Devils will also visit Nigeria for a friendly with fellow Premiership outfit Portsmouth.

Those missing from the squad are Patrice Evra, Nani, Edwin van der Sar, Cristiano Ronaldo, who is recovering from ankle surgery, - all were involved in Euro 2008 - Anderson and Dong Fangzhuo – both called up for Olympics - Louis Saha (left), Owen Hargreaves and Ji-sung Park.

The Squad: Goalkeepers: Ben Amos, Ben Foster, Tomasz Kuszczak

Defenders: Wes Brown, Jonathan Evans, Rio Ferdinand, Gary Neville, John O’Shea, Mikael Silvestre, Danny Simpson, Nemanja Vidic

Midfielders: Michael Carrick, Chris Eagles, Darren Fletcher, Darron Gibson, Ryan Giggs, Lee Martin, Paul Scholes

Strikers: Fraizer Campbell, Wayne Rooney, Carlos Tevez.