United lose Anderson, Ferdinand

Manchester United FC midfielder Anderson has been ruled out for the season with a cruciate knee ligament injury and Rio Ferdinand could also miss the UEFA Champions League first knockout round second leg against AC Milan on 10 March.

Anderson was injured during Tuesday's 3-0 Premier League defeat of West Ham United FC and the 21-year-old Brazilian will undergo an operation in Portugal in early March. He is expected to be sidelined for six months. "With these injuries, it's usually something simple. He stretched to pass the ball and his knee just popped," manager Sir Alex Ferguson said. "It's a bad bit of news for him. He was just getting back into the team after being out for a few weeks. He was looking forward to it and was showing great energy in the match. So that is a blow, particularly with the Milan game coming up, because Michael Carrick is suspended for that."

Also likely to sit out Milan's visit is central defender Ferdinand, who skipped the West Ham match with a back problem which definitely keeps him out of Sunday's English League Cup final against Aston Villa FC at Wembley. "We think he'll be back in two weeks," added Sir Alex. "I don't think he'll be fit for Milan, but I don't think it'll be much longer than that." United, leading 3-2 in the tie, are hopeful that Ryan Giggs will be available against the Rossoneri as he returns to training next week following an absence with a fractured arm.