Paul Scholes has come out of retirement to rejoin Manchester United until the end of the season, and will be on the bench today for the FA Cup third round match against Manchester City.

No, it’s not an April fools joke. The 37-year-old Paul Scholes will be rejoining the 38-year old Ryan Giggs and his fellow teammates to help strengthen Manchester United’s crumbling midfield which has been lacking the strength and composure since Scholes retired in May 2011. Since last spring, Scholes has been working at Old Trafford in a coaching role, but his return to the playing staff is quite a shock.

Manchester United’s midfield has been hampered by the injuries to Tom Cleverley, Darren Fletcher and Ashley Young. Meanwhile Giggs can’t be expected to play every game, so the return of Scholes will add some steel and discipline to the midfield when necessary.

The move by Sir Alex Ferguson still seems very desperate. It’s a mark of respect for Scholes to agree to come out of retirement to help the Red Devils, but Ferguson needs a more permanent solution to help out his squad in midfield. The move by Ferguson sends a message that the United team doesn’t have the depth, experience and money to bring in a necessary midfielder, so the best it can do is beg a 37-year-old world-class veteran to return to the team.