O'Shea Out For Rest Of Season

Sir Alex Ferguson is set to be without John O'Shea for the rest of the season.

The defender picked up an injury whilst on international duty for the Republic of Ireland in November and has not played since.

O'Shea was initially thought to have suffered a dead leg, but Sir Alex has revealed the injury is much more complicated and is likely to keep the Irishman sidelined for the remainder of the campaign.

"It's a bad blow for the boy and for the team because he can play anywhere," Sir Alex told the Irish Independent. "When you look at all the problems I've had with the back four this season, he could have played every single one.

"It's one of those sorts of injuries that are unusual. It's like a dead leg except a dead leg usually [lasts] only three or four days.

"The problem is that the blood clot became all knotted and when it gets knotted you get calcification so therefore it's a long process to clear that up. He'll probably miss the season now," he added.