MANCHESTER, England (AP) -Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes will be out for up to 10 weeks after suffering medial ligament damage in the team's Champions League victory at Aalborg.
The 33-year-old Scholes missed three months of last season after damaging ligaments in the same right knee last October, and this latest injury is more serious than manager Alex Ferguson initially feared.
The veteran was stretchered off after 16 minutes of Tuesday's match following a clash with Aalborg captain Thomas Augustinussen in Denmark. Striker Wayne Rooney was also removed with an ankle problem during the 3-0 win.
"(Rooney) felt a weakness in it when he went to receive a ball and we took him off straight away," Ferguson said.
Midfielders Michael Carrick and Owen Hargreaves are also currently sidelined.
If Scholes, who has spent his entire career at United, does recover according to schedule he could be back for December's World Club Championship in Japan.
But United said the 10-week prognosis after Wednesday's scan is only an approximation. The former England international, who is in the last year of his contract at Old Trafford, missed much of the 2005-6 season with an eye condition.
"I can't say I can't wait to finish my career, but I'm looking forward to finishing and everything that goes with it," Scholes told reporters in July in rare comments. "The only thing I will definitely miss is the football. The general life of a footballer is not for me, I suppose."
