Neville admits losing Ryan Giggs is a big blow

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Manchester United winger Ryan Giggs will be out of action for four weeks after fracturing his right arm in Wednesday night's Premier League match at Aston Villa.

Giggs, who has been in evergreen form this season, will now miss United's Champions League second round clash with AC Milan plus the Carling Cup final with Villa at Wembley on February 28.

The veteran midfielder damaged his right arm in a collision with Steve Sidwell during the 1-1 draw at Villa Park and left the stadium with his arm in a sling.

The 36-year-old was sent for an x-ray after the match and the scans revealed the fracture. Giggs will also miss Premier League games against Everton, West Ham and Wolves.

Giggs' absence serves as a further lessening of United's squad depth. They are due to be lacking the services of Portugal winger Nani after he was red-carded for a two-footed tackle on Stiliyan Petrov. He will now also miss the Carling Cup final as part of a three-match suspension.

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WHAT THE HELL!! Sidwell you ass! Looks like old man Giggsy won't get to play against Becks next week! Too bad.

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Gary Neville, Manchester United's club captain, has acknowledged that the loss of Ryan Giggs through a broken arm represents "a big blow" to their aspirations of beating Milan in the Champions League's first knockout phase.

Giggs will not be among the travelling party when Sir Alex Ferguson's men leave for an icy Milan today, the reigning Footballer of the Year having been injured in the 1-1 draw at Aston Villa last week.

"It is disappointing to have Ryan Giggs out injured for four weeks," Neville said. "It is going to be difficult without a player like Giggs with such experience and quality. He has been playing extremely well for us, especially in the big games, providing great passes and scoring goals. It is a big blow but at the beginning of the season you have to prepare yourself for injuries at the worst moments. The 22-man squad has to be utilised throughout the season."

Ferguson went to see Milan beat Udinese 2-1 on Friday night, when David Beckham was among the substitutes. The United manager has described it as a good time to be playing the Serie A side, particularly as his own team had a rest at the weekend, and cited the transfer of Milan's best player, Kaká, to Real Madrid last summer.

Neville, though, pointed out that Milan "have several fine players – the likes of Ronaldinho, Marco Boriello, Pato, Andrea Pirlo, David Beckham, Clarence Seedorf and Massimo Ambrosini. It is not a case of watching out for just one player. The last time we played them they had Kaká. Now they have Pato, who is a top-quality player."

Neville was Beckham's closest friend when they were team-mates at Old Trafford and knows how keen his former colleague will be to face United for the first time since leaving the club six years ago.

"Will it be strange seeing him lined up against us? Not really. We have played against former team-mates like my brother, Phil, and Nicky Butt, so you get used to it. Once the match starts nobody would be thinking about it.

"It may be stranger for Beckham but, of course, we wish him all the best. I spoke to him last week but we didn't discuss Tuesday's game. I also spoke to him when the draw was made and he was very excited about returning to Old Trafford. I'm sure it will be a special night for him."

Wayne Rooney was similarly wary. "Milan have a number of players who can score goals, particularly from set pieces, so I think we'll have to be wary of that," he said. "They have Pirlo and Becks… some great players. Ronaldinho is a special player, too. He's unbelievable when he's on form. I saw recently that he was voted Player of the Decade, so that shows how much of a talent he is. We'll need to be at our best to beat them."

Last month Rooney declared that Seedorf was the best player he had faced. "For me Seedorf is probably the best player I've ever played against. When we played Milan at the San Siro a few years ago he was unbelievable."