Double injury blow for United

Manchester United defenders Gary Neville and John O'Shea face several weeks on the sidelines after suffering injuries in the 2-0 win over Portsmouth.

Neville was caught on the foot moments after Wayne Rooney had opened the scoring at Old Trafford, with the United skipper replaced by O'Shea.

However, Republic of Ireland international O'Shea picked up an ankle injury early in the second half, which prompted Rafael da Silva's introduction as a substitute.

The experienced duo are now set to miss a few key games for United after Sir Alex Ferguson confirmed the severity of the injuries.

"There were two bad tackles on them, but no action was taken and they will be out for weeks now, unfortunately," Ferguson told Sky Sports.

"Gary Neville has had to go for an X-ray and John O'Shea will have a scan tomorrow.

"They will both be out for a few weeks now and that's the disappointment about that."

Right-back has been a troublesome area for United this season, but Wes Brown is on the brink of a return to first-team action.

Brown will feature for the reserves on Thursday night and could be in contention to face Tottenham on Saturday, having not played since the end of January.

Regarding United's problems at right-back, Ferguson joked: "I don't think anyone else should play there!"

He added: "Fortunately, we've got Wes Brown back and he plays for the reserves tomorrow again. That's his second game.

"We'll give him one half because he could be involved on Saturday."