Van Nistelrooy sidelined for United's crucial opening month

MANCHESTER UNITED lost their leading scorer and £300,000 tonight - without playing a match.

While the decision to refund all 15,000 fans who bought tickets for the abandoned Vodafone Cup tie with Urawa Red Diamonds will hurt United in the pocket, the loss of Ruud van Nistelrooy for a month will cause the greater pain.

United confirmed van Nistelrooy will have surgery on a sportsman's hernia next week, keeping the Dutchman out for a month.

Having only played 45 minutes of United's pre-season campaign so far, it is not known if the former PSV Eindhoven man picked up the injury against his old club on Tuesday or if it is a legacy of Holland's Euro 2004 campaign.

It has left a huge hole in Alex Ferguson's plans for a demanding month that includes United's first four Premiership games - including the opener at Chelsea - and the vital Champions League double-header with Dinamo Bucharest.

Van Nistelrooy's setback finished off a bad night for the Old Trafford outfit, who saw the second evening of the inaugural Vodafone Cup wrecked by an electrical storm.

Boca Juniors' encounter with PSV was abandoned with 12 minutes remaining and referee Andy D'Urso also called off the United game.

Old Trafford officials and tournament organisers offered fans a full refund.