Ferdinand made his return to the Manchester United side against Hull

Manchester United's Rio Ferdinand has denied a violent conduct charge and is free to face Manchester City in the Carling Cup semi-final on Wednesday.

A Football Association panel will now consider the charge on Thursday.

United lost the first leg at City 2-1 and a guilty plea by Ferdinand would have meant an immediate three-game ban.

Television replays appeared to show the 31-year-old defender strike Hull forward Craig Fagan in United's 4-0 Premier League win on Saturday.

If Ferdinand is found guilty, he would miss Sunday's Premier League trip to Arsenal, the home game against Portsmouth on 6 February and an away game at Aston Villa four days later.

In exceptional cases, the FA can impose an additional ban - usually an extra match - if it considers an appeal to be 'frivolous'.

Ferdinand is alleged to have made contact with Fagan with a swinging arm in the United penalty area as the home side prepared to defend a Hull free-kick.

The charge is a setback for United, who have suffered a series of injuries in defence this season, with Nemanja Vidic, Jonny Evans, Wes Brown, Rafael Da Silva, Fabio Da Silva and Gary Neville all having significant spells on the sidelines.

Last week, Ferguson revealed that John O'Shea is likely to miss the rest of the season because of a leg problem.

Ferdinand was making his return to the first team against Hull after spending three months out with a calf injury but he has also been plagued by a back problem.

Ferguson was delighted to have Ferdinand back in his team and said his presence had a galvanising effect on the defence.

"Rio's performance level is important," stated Ferguson. "It is important to have him back because getting the centre-halves fit is key to our progress this season."