Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has explained leaving Ryan Giggs and Dimitar Berbatov out of his squad for their Euro clash with Ajax.

Ferguson revealed the news at a press conference in the Dutch capital ahead of Thursday's tie with Giggs having to wait to make his 900th appearance for the club. Patrice Evra has also remained in Manchester after being subjected to so much media attention in Saturday's win over Liverpool.

"Ryan Giggs and Dimitar Berbatov are injured," stated the manager. "We rested Patrice Evra. It was an emotional weekend for him so I think this is the right thing to do. It's a strong squad we've got here.

"Ryan got a knock in the first half against Liverpool on the ankle and Dimitar got an injury in training on Sunday. I've got plenty of options up front with Wayne [Rooney], Chicha [Javier Hernandez] and Danny Welbeck. I could also play Ashley Young off the front or Nani through the middle. It's better to leave him [Berbatov] behind. It's not a serious injury - he'd be available if I asked him to play - but I thought it better not to risk it, so I left him behind."