Scholes out for 10 weeks

Paul Scholes has suffered medial ligament damage and will be out for approximately 10 weeks.

The news came at lunchtime on Wednesday, the day after Scholes had been stretchered off in United's 3-0 win over Aalborg BK in Denmark.

Scholes wasn't the only casualty. Wayne Rooney and right-back Rafael were also substituted for medical reasons during the match. But Scholes was the first injured and, it would seem, the most serious.

"There were a lot of plus points but we lost Paul Scholes," Sir Alex said after the final whistle.

"We had one or two other injuries," the boss added. "Young Rafael got injured and Rooney has an ankle problem. He felt a weakness in it when he went to receive a ball and we took him off straightaway.

"So there was maybe a cost to pay for the victory. Nonetheless we have four points now and it's where we want to be."

The three points in Aalborg were made safe by Dimitar Berbatov's first and second goals in a United shirt. Sir Alex was delighted to see the Bulgarian open his account so emphatically in only his fifth appearance.

"He scored two fantastic goals and that will help his confidence," said the manager.

"When you're transferred for that amount of money, you want your first goal quickly and he's got it. The second goal (volley from Ronaldo's cross) was a lovely goal."

Berbatov's second-half brace may have spared the blushes of his team-mates - Sir Alex's other complaint, aside from the injuries, was that "we missed a lot of chances."