United must plan without injured Ferdinand

Rio Ferdinand is sidelined for three weeks with a torn thigh muscle and will not face former club West Ham at Upton Park in the…

Rio Ferdinand is sidelined for three weeks with a torn thigh muscle and will not face former club West Ham at Upton Park in the Premiership tomorrow.

Ferdinand limped out of United's Champions League win over Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, only weeks after coming back from knee surgery.

David Beckham suffered bruised ribs in Wednesday's game but is expected to return after missing last weekend's defeat to rivals Manchester City.

Goalkeeper Fabien Barthez is also likely to return as is Gary Neville who will return to right-back as John O'Shea moves into the centre to partner Laurent Blanc.

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West Ham midfielder Steve Lomas is extremely doubtful after suffering an ankle injury in last Sunday's 4-3 home defeat by Leeds.

Manager Glenn Roeder, who plans to make "one or two" defensive changes, is again without French striker Frederic Kanoute.