Former Manchester United defender David May says Nemanja Vidic's first team return is ideal timing for their clashes this week with Barcelona and Chelsea.

"It is massive that they get him back," he said. "Gerard Pique has done really well standing in but against Barcelona it is the creme de la creme.

"They've got Thierry Henry, Lionel Messi, Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto'o it's frightening.

"These are the occasions when you need your strong, strong players. They will be playing in front of 120,000 fans. It will be an amazing atmosphere and you need your most experienced players.

"Vidic has played in massive games for Serbia, so he will be prepared for that. You saw last year what happened when the defence was wiped out for the semi-final against Milan. They won the league, but they couldn't take that next step.

"Everybody knows about United's forwards but the foundation has been the solid defence.

"Rio Ferdinand and Vidic are absolutely brilliant together and they will only get better. They compliment each other perfectly and if you keep clean sheets, you win games."