Manchester United defender Chris Smalling has been ruled out for a month with a broken foot, manager Sir Alex Ferguson has confirmed.
The 21-year-old missed Saturday's Barclays Premier League win at Everton with the injury and the lay-off means he will miss England's November friendlies against Spain and Sweden.
Ferguson told MUTV: "Smalling has a small fracture on his foot. I think he'll be out for a month and it's unfortunate that one."
Ferguson also revealed that he expects winger Ashley Young to be sidelined for at least another fortnight with his toe injury. The former Aston Villa player was also ruled out of the 2-1 victory at Goodison Park.
"Ashley Young has a toe injury that is not going away so he could be out for a couple of weeks," said the Scot.
Ferguson, however, was more upbeat about midfielder Tom Cleverley, who limped off during the second half on Merseyside with an ankle problem.
The 22-year-old only returned from a six-week lay-off with a foot injury in Tuesday's Carling Cup win at Aldershot.
Ferguson said: "He's felt his ankle again. It's nothing serious, just tightness and tiredness.
"It's his first real game back, although he played on Tuesday of course.
"He should be okay next week and it was an excellent performance from him in the first half."
Source: PA
