Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes will be out of action for up to six weeks after undergoing a knee operation in the next 48 hours. The 27-year-old, controversially omitted from the England squad to face Portugal last weekend, has been struggling with the injury since before the start of the season.
And although he was ruled out of England action after jarring his ankle at Old Trafford recently, it is the injury he suffered during a friendly match with Ajax at the beginning of last month - which forced him to fly home from Amsterdam - which has left manager Sir Alex Ferguson with little option other than to send Scholes under the surgeon's knife.
"Paul is booked in for an operation tomorrow but we might put it back until Thursday. He has never really recovered from the tackle he received in Amsterdam and hasn't completed a full game since last season. We have decided to bite the bullet and get it done now. We still have options in midfield and hopefully the injury situation will sort itself out in the next few weeks," said Ferguson.
Filed by James Shortt
