Jonny Evans handed Louis van Gaal an injury boost by coming through unscathed from an appearance with Manchester United's reserves on Tuesday evening.
The Northern Irishman has not played for the Red Devils since limping off with an ankle injury during their 5-3 defeat to Leicester City in September.
He stepped up his recovery with a 64-minute cameo in United's reserves' 5-0 win over Blackburn Rovers' second string.
Van Gaal has had to cope without Evans, Phil Jones, Marcos Rojo and Rafael in recent weeks and so will be relieved that his most senior defender is on the mend.
Ander Herrera, Adnan Januzaj and Anders Lindegaard were other first-team players to turn out at Leigh Sports Village.
