Butt returned home from the World Cup this summer with plaudits ringing in his ears after a magnificent series of performances.

Legendary Brazilian Pele hailed the unassuming Mancunian as one of the stars of the tournament and Old Trafford boss Sir Alex Ferguson confirmed for the first time that he saw Butt as an integral member of his first-choice line-up.

After a decade acting as back up to the likes of Paul Ince and Roy Keane, it was the chance Butt had been waiting for.

Yet only nine Premiership games into the new campaign, disaster struck when the midfielder was forced to undergo ankle surgery which took longer than expected to overcome.

Butt did not return until the end of January and was then confined to a place on the bench until Tuesday’s superb victory over Juventus when Keane’s surprise move into central defence allowed him to partner Phil Neville in midfield.

The chances of Butt keeping his place probably depend on the recovery of Ryan Giggs from his thigh injury, but even if he starts Sunday’s encounter with Liverpool on the bench, you will not hear any complaints from the man Ferguson readily admits he has had more approaches for than any other member of his squad.

“Getting the injury was a real kick in the teeth,” said Butt.

“I had played most of the matches to that point, so it was pretty frustrating.

“It’s hard to keep going in the gym when there is no match to look forward to but then you look around and realise there are people who are a lot worse off than you.

“I have been quite lucky with injuries during my career so you have to accept it.

“People always say things about me because I don’t play all the time but I have just been out for three months and am working my way back in.

“I expect Roy Keane to slip back into midfield on Sunday, so I just have to be patient. If my chance comes again, hopefully I will take it.”

Manchester born and bred, Butt is steeped in the traditions of United and needs no reminding of the intense rivalry which accompanies any clash with Liverpool.

The majority of the opposition players are well known through the midfielder’s England connection.

And, while he dismissed the long-standing notion that players from the two north-west giants do not mix on international duty, Butt is not expecting too much friendly banter in Cardiff this weekend.

“When you go away with England, the club stuff is put to one side,” he said.

“There are no problems with the Liverpool players. They are all good lads and we get on with them.

“Sunday will be a different matter though. I can’t imagine there will be much said between us because this is such a massive game. There is a great rivalry and I’m sure Liverpool will be thinking the same way as us – we want to win badly.”

Two goals from Diego Forlan, who misses out with ankle ligament damage, saw United emerged victorious from their visit to Anfield this season, ending a run of five successive Liverpool triumphs between the teams.

And United will start favourites to lift the League cup for only the second time as Gerard Houllier’s side struggle to find consistency, despite setting up a UEFA Cup ‘Battle of Britain’ with Celtic last night with a 2-0 home win over Auxerre.

Yet Butt admitted the Red Devils’ form lines are not easy to work out either, having mixed disappointing Premier League draws with Manchester City and Bolton with a pair of Champions League victories over Juventus, including the historic 3-0 triumph over the Italians in the Stadio delle Alpi this week.

“It makes you scratch your head, although I don’t think the performance on Tuesday was that great,” he revealed.

“The result was brilliant and will go down in history but Juventus had a few chances themselves and could easily have scored three or four.

“But we have to admit there have been some slip-ups in the league recently and we have to become more consistent overall.”