Manchester United new boy Zoran Tosic could make his debut in Tuesday night's Carling Cup semi-final against Derby.
Tosic was unveiled last week following his £8million move from Partizan Belgrade and Sir Alex Ferguson suggested it would be the end of February before the 21-year-old was ready to meet the physical demands of life in England.
But Ferguson appears to have had a change of heart and is considering naming Tosic in his squad to face the Rams, who hold a one-goal advantage from the first leg.
Meanwhile, Michael Carrick has confirmed Ryan Giggs remains the shining example for Manchester United's entire squad to follow.
The veteran midfielder has been little more than a bit-part player this season, but has shown his class with a fine performance against Chelsea followed by a big role in the winning goal at Bolton on Saturday.
"Ryan is as motivated as anyone in the dressing room,'' said Carrick. "That is why he has been here for so long and achieved so much.
"If you win a league title, a lot of players might think 'that is not bad, I will settle for that'. But you can't get away with that here and Ryan is the obvious example of that.
"As players coming in you look at Ryan, see how motivated and determined he is and realise that is the way to be.
"He commands the respect of everyone in the dressing room. People look up to him. It is not so much asking his advice, it is to see what it takes to be a success in the game.''
Derby boss Nigel Clough is boosted by the return of defenders Paul Connolly and Jordan Stewart for the tie.
Connolly missed the weekend defeat to QPR due to a one-match ban, while Stewart served the final game of his three-match suspension but both are set to return to bolster the Rams' defence.
However, Clough will be without on-loan striker Luke Varney who is cup-tied after playing for parent club Charlton earlier in the competition.
Defender Martin Albrechtsen returned from a knee injury to play 90 minutes against QPR and he is set to keep his place at the back after suffering no ill-effects.
Fellow defender Claude Davis is fit again after a hamstring injury and is pushing for a place among the substitutes, but striker Nathan Ellington has picked up a groin injury in training and misses out.
Clough remains optimistic his side can do the unthinkable and knock Manchester United out of the competition.
The Rams travel to Old Trafford for their semi-final second leg with a 1-0 lead after Kris Commons' strike gave them a surprise victory at Pride Park.
United are now firmly installed as Premier League favourites and are expected to put Clough's men back in their place, even if Sir Alex Ferguson fields a weakened side.
Clough remains optimistic, however, and said: "We are not sure what side they will put out but we are certainly capable of getting a result there, whether it be a draw to hang onto the lead or whatever.
"It is a long, long time since Derby have been to Wembley. That is the incentive and it should spur everyone on in training. We have got to look after the lead - so we won't be playing three up front - but you can't defend for 90 minutes at Old Trafford.
"When we get the opportunity to go forward we have to. We must have an element of a threat going forward in order to try to get us a goal. If we could get a goal at any point that would make their job that much more difficult.''
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