Well, it seems even Sir Alex isn't clued up on the rules about when a player must serve a suspension. So, to clarify the situation, here is a brief rundown of the rules as they affect both Evra and Ronaldo.

Patrice Evra picked up his 5th yellow card of the season yesterday. This triggers a one-match ban which starts seven days after the final card. This means that he can play in the Carling Cup match against Blackburn and also next Saturday against Sunderland as that is only the sixth day. He thus misses the match with Tottenham a week later.

Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off for two bookable offences. This means that neither yellow counts towards his accumulation, but he does serve a one match ban immediately. He is therefore unavailable for the Carling Cup match but will be free to play again from Saturday.