Manchester United defender Rafael da Silva has been ruled out for 10 weeks after suffering a dislocated shoulder in training.
Rafael sustained the injury at United's Carrington training ground earlier this week and the Premier League champions confirmed the likely length of the Brazilian's absence before Sunday's match at West Bromwich Albion.
"Rafael will be out of action for around 10 weeks after dislocating his shoulder in training ahead of the trip to West Brom," a United statement read.
"The Brazilian full-back suffered the painful injury at Carrington and will be out for some time with Chris Smalling taking on the right-back role at The Hawthorns."
As well as Smalling, who is usually a central defender, Rafael's twin brother Fabio da Silva could also fill in at right-back, but the 21-year-old's injury is still a blow for United manager Sir Alex Ferguson at the start of his team's title defence.
Source: AFP
