Rio Ferdinand has vowed not to gamble on his fitness in tonight's Champions League final.

Ferdinand has been a major doubt since suffering a calf strain in the semi-final victory over Arsenal.

At one point last week Sir Alex Ferguson claimed Ferdinand would have to play some part at Hull on Sunday to give himself a chance of facing Barcelona in the Stadio Olimpico.

The £29.1million star did not appear at the KC Stadium but all the vibes around him have been positive and the expectation is he will be part of a United defence looking to subdue Lionel Messi and company to become the first team to retain the European Cup since it was rebranded in 1992.

However, with Northern Ireland’s Jonny Evans proving to be a more than capable deputy for regular spells this season, Ferguson does have an alternative if Ferdinand is ruled out.

And the England star has pledged not to take any risks.

"I wouldn't do that," he said. "There is no way I will play if my fitness was detrimental to the team.

"In any case, I have been working hard with the medical staff and training well. There are no problems."

While Evans has shown plenty of promise, Ferguson would prefer to have Ferdinand alongside Nemanja Vidic as United attempt to keep out a side that put six past Real Madrid in the Bernabeu last month.

As United's defence picks itself, with John O'Shea and Patrice Evra at full-back, and both Michael Carrick and Ryan Giggs expected to be involved from the start, Ferguson's remaining selection dilemma centres around his strikeforce.

Carlos Tevez and Dimitar Berbatov have both filled the central striker's role this season, which would mean a place on the bench for either Anderson or Park Ji-sung, who did not even get that far in Moscow 12 months ago.

However, Ferguson is also toying with the idea of using Ronaldo as an orthodox forward and using Park to plug the right wing, just as Wayne Rooney has done on the left.