Valencia To Miss Rest Of Season

Manchester United's Antonio Valencia is likely to be out for the rest of the season after suffering an awful ankle injury in the 0-0 draw with Rangers.

The winger was stretchered off after going down under an innocuous-looking tackle from Kirk Broadfoot in the 62nd minute of the Champions League opener.

Valencia, 25, was taken to hospital an will undergo surgery on Wednesday.

"It looks like a dislocation and a fracture," said boss Sir Alex Ferguson. "We're talking the rest of the season."

Ferguson compared the severity of the injury to that suffered by former United player Alan Smith, who broke his left leg and dislocated his ankle in an FA Cup tie against Liverpool in February 2006.

"It is a bad blow for the boy," said Ferguson of Valencia. "It is similar to the injury Alan Smith got."

The Scot added: "He seemed to dig his toe into the turf, and as soon as we saw the Rangers player waving we knew it was a bad one, and it's turned into a bad one."

Ferguson is already without the services of England midfielder Michael Carrick, although Brazilian Anderson is available again following a seven-month absence with cruciate ligament damage.

Ferguson, too, has other options out wide in the form of Nani, Gabriel Obertan, veteran Ryan Giggs, who replaced Valencia on the night, and the right-footed Ji-Sung Park, who started on the left in the Group C clash against the Scottish champions.

Valencia, who arrived at United from Wigan in June 2009 as Cristiano Ronaldo departed for Real Madrid, was making his fourth appearance of a season that begun with him scoring in the 3-1 Community Shield win over Chelsea.