Bebe given United lifeline

Anderson and Bebe have been given the chance to impress before the new season after being included in United's pre-season tour squad.

Sir Alex Ferguson has announced his 22-man squad for the trips to China and South Africa, with Brazilian striker Bebe handed the opportunity to show what he is capable of after a difficult couple of years. The 22-year-old hardly featured in his first season at Old Trafford before he was sent to Besiktas on a season-long loan last year, where injuries blighted his campaign. Bebe will hope the tour will serve as an opportunity to get back in Ferguson's good books, as will Anderson who was yet again plauged by injuries last season. The squad for the tour consists of a mainly youngsters, sprinkled with a few familiar faces as Rio Ferdinand, Michael Carrick, Paul Scholes and Javier Hernandez all get set to fly out to Durban on Tuesday. New signing Shinji Kagawa will also be part of the tour, but there is no place for Nemanja Vidic, despite recent reports he was back to full fitness. Squad: Lindegaard, Amos, Johnstone; Ferdinand, Veseli, Vermijl, Wootton, Blackett; Valencia, Anderson, Carrick, Scholes, Powell, Kagawa, Bebe, Tunnicliffe, Lingard, Brady, Petrucci; Berbatov, Hernandez, Macheda.