For the first time in more than 17 years, Manchester United supporters will get a sight of Roy Keane back in their iconic shirt.
Having previously declined to be a part of the Legends matches, United confirmed their heroic former skipper will appear vs Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday. The Premier League heavyweights will go head-to-head on Merseyside in the second leg of the ‘Legends of the North’ clash.
And United have it all to do having lost the first game 3-1 back in May and have called in the cavalry in an attempt to overturn the deficit. While the main aim of the day is to raise valuable funds for the club’s Foundation, that doesn’t mean getting a result won’t be on the players’ minds.
And for anyone that had the privilege of watching Keane throughout his illustrious playing career - or in his media career since - will know he will be going all out to win. It’s the first time the former Republic of Ireland international has turned out in the charity matches and will line up alongside the likes of Darren Fletcher, Michael Carrick and Dimitar Berbatov.
Ironically, he will also don the United shirt in the stadium of his final appearance for the club. Few expected that when he trudged off with an injury against Liverpool in September 2005, that it would be his Old Trafford curtain call - after winning seven Premier League titles in 12 years at the club.
But so it proved to be, with Keane’s infamous MUTV interview - where he brutally tore into his teammates - serving as the final straw just months later. The skipper was denied a farewell in front of his own fans, not only by that segment, but by the injury he suffered during the drab draw with Liverpool.
That game instantly became one of the more forgettable between their old rivals as Sir Alex Ferguson and Rafael Benitez’s sides cancelled each other out. It was the injury to Keane which dominated the post-match talking points, with Ferguson unsuccessfully demanding changes be made in the English top flight.
Keane was on the receiving end of two heavy tackles during the game, having recovered from a previous injury. First Luis Garcia caught him, before Peter Crouch came down on the top of his foot, causing what became the most fashionable injury of the time - a broken metatarsal.
And Ferguson hit out at the fact opposition players were still using bladed studs, having outlawed their use within the confines of Carrington. "It's something we feel very strongly about," the United boss said after the 0-0 draw.
"We banned blades a year ago, as most clubs have, and we have got pictures around the training ground of the serious injuries they can cause. Yet Roy's X-ray clearly shows the impression of a blade where the injury is."
Keane’s public dressing down of underperforming stars would seal his fate, with the two parties reaching an agreement to mutually terminate his contract. And while the ex-captain admitted he would “never forgive” Ferguson for the circumstances surrounding his acrimonious exit, that wasn’t behind his refusal to turn out in charity matches.
"I'm not fit. I'm far from fit. My fitness levels are actually very, very embarrassing. Just because I've not put on loads of weight doesn't mean to say I'm fit. I wouldn't really be able to do any running," he told Off the Ball.
"Put it this way, I've been invited a number of times over the last few years to play legends games or whatever you want to call it. I'd find it really difficult because I wouldn't be able to get around. Too many injury problems. I try to have a decent diet obviously and I'm wary of putting on too much weight, but I certainly wouldn't be fit enough to go on any sort of run."
That looks set to change this weekend however, as he finally finds a place in a United team managed by his former teammate Andy Cole, and Andy Ritchie.
