Manchester United's title bid has suffered a blow
with the news that Dimitar Berbatov has been ruled out for two
weeks with an ankle injury.
The Bulgarian suffered the problem during the 2-0 Premier
League defeat at Fulham two weeks ago.
He subsequently pulled out of his country's World Cup qualifying
double-header against the Republic of Ireland and Cyprus, and he
will play no part in Sunday's league clash against Aston Villa.
"It's probably going to be another two weeks," said Ferguson.
"Hopefully he will be back training with us at the end of next week
and he will be okay after that."
It leaves Ferguson with a major selection headache for Sunday's
Premier League clash with Aston Villa as Wayne Rooney is also out
through suspension.
In addition, Carlos Tevez is not due back from South America
until later this afternoon following Argentina's stunning six-goal
hammering in Bolivia.
"I think he gets back from Mars about 4pm," joked Ferguson.
"With Dimitar out and Wayne suspended hopefully Carlos will be
okay. That will give us one striker, then we will have to choose
another."
Should the prognosis prove correct, the 28-year-old will also
crucially miss both legs of the Champions League quarter-final
against Porto and next weekend's league trip to Sunderland.
It would put him in line for a return in the FA Cup semi-final
against Everton on April 19, but the talented frontman will
undoubtedly be missed a crucial stage in the season.
Should Liverpool avoid defeat at Fulham on Saturday, United
could find themselves knocked off the top of the table heading into
the match with Villa.
Berbatov has scored 13 times in 33 appearances for the Red
Devils since joining from Tottenham for £30million last summer.
