England captain David Beckham will be out of action for up to three weeks after tests revealed he has fractured ribs.
The Manchester United midfielder is thought to have picked up the injury in the Premiership win over Southampton last week. But he still played in Wednesday's Champions League victory over Bayer Leverkusen four days later.
He complained of pain after the match but it was initially thought the ribs were just bruised, rather than fractured. A scan has proved otherwise and Beckham was ruled out of today's Premiership clash at West Ham.
He is also set to miss crucial league games at Newcastle, Liverpool and Arsenal, as well as the opening match in the second phase of the Champions League, against FC Basel of Switzerland.
The injury is a setback for Beckham personally as well as a hammer-blow for United's ambitions in Europe and at home.
Beckham is currently acting as the club stand-in skipper while Roy Keane recovers from hip surgery.
The bad news on Beckham comes just two days after United's England defender Rio Ferdinand was ruled out for three weeks with a torn thigh muscle.
The England defender limped out of the win over Bayer Leverkusen and a scan on Friday confirmed that the muscle had been torn.
Ferdinand will miss at least three league games - including those make-or-break clashes with Liverpool and Arsenal - as well as the start of United's campaign second phase campaign in the Champions League.
United's playing resources have been seriously depleted this season with key midfielders Nicky Butt and Roy Keane still out of action. Gary Neville, Ruud Van Nistelrooy and Paul Scholes have also been sidelined for spells while Ferdinand himself had only just come back from knee surgery before Friday's bad news.
With Ferdinand ruled out for Sunday's game, Ferguson was expected to recall Gary Neville, who was dropped for the Leverkusen match, and move young Irish defender John O'Shea from right back into the middle of the defence alongside Laurent Blanc.
AFP