Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson is confident Gary Neville will sign a new contract - and make England's World Cup squad. Neville, 35, is yet to decide whether to join fellow stalwarts Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes in committing himself to another season at United, but Ferguson does not envisage a problem.
And the United boss has also raised the possibility of Fabio Capello squeezing him into his 23-man squad for South Africa.
"I wouldn't be surprised if he went to South Africa," said Ferguson. "It is not my job to say he should go, it is difficult enough for an international manager, but I wouldn't be surprised if Fabio chose him.
"There is no dialogue here yet but I am pretty sure Gary will be here next year."
Even Ferguson doubted whether Neville would recover but the full-back has shown admirable fortitude and more than held his own against Manchester City flyer Craig Bellamy at Eastlands last week.
"Gary is unbelievable," Ferguson added. "He is an amazing man. When you are in your 30s and been out of the game for a year and a half it is impossible for most players to come back to the level he is at now.
"He used his experience to the full last Saturday. Craig Bellamy is a handful but Gary will have studied every little bit of him. That is what he does and he had him under control."
Ferguson did not expect to be calling on Neville quite as much as he has.
At one stage last season the United boss claimed the defender's body would not stand up to more than one game a week.
However, Neville has been a regular over the last couple of months and could well be involved tomorrow when United entertain Tottenham looking for the victory that would enable them to return to the Premier League summit.
"It has surprised me how many games Gary has played recently," Ferguson added. "After we brought him back against Everton away we looked after every game at what his recovery should be.
"We looked at what he was like and how he felt and whether we should bring Rafael back in.
"But every time he was up for it. He trained every day and never missed a session so you go with the flow."