Injury jinx concerns Fergie

Manchester United’s injury jinx has struck again with Paul Scholes ruled out for at least two weeks and fresh concerns over Nicky Butt and Roy Keane.

Scholes jarred his ankle going for a tackle just after the interval of tonight’s 5-0 Champions League qualifying triumph over Hungarian minnows Zalaegerszeg at Old Trafford.

The England midfielder was stretchered away in agony and Sir Alex Ferguson immediately ruled him out of Saturday’s trip to Sunderland and almost certainly the international with Portugal at Villa Park on September 7.

Butt missed the game completely after seeking a specialist’s assessment on a toe injury, while Keane is the subject of speculation over a possible hip operation.

“At the moment it looks like two weeks for Paul,” said Ferguson.

“It is difficult to get an accurate assessment with an ankle injury and the swelling came up immediately.

“Nicky went to see a specialist yesterday, so we will see what shape he is in for Saturday.”

Ferguson was even less revealing about the extent of Keane’s problem.

Reports suggest he will have an operation tomorrow, but the Scot quickly dismissed those rumours, while hinting their could be a problem which needs dealing with.

“He is not having any sort of operation this week,” said Ferguson.

“Maybe there is a problem further down the line but he got through the full 90 minutes tonight and I just deal with facts.”

It all took the gloss of a magnificent display, which also saw the introduction of Rio Ferdinand for his debut after the £29.3million defender’s recovery from his own ankle injury woe.

Threatened with an embarrassingly early exit from the competition, and the possible loss of £40million in revenue thanks to their 1-0 first leg defeat, United responded with a performance their visitors simply could not live with.

Ruud van Nistelrooy wiped out the starting advantage by sweeping in from Scholes’ pass inside six minutes, before David Beckham put the home side in front with a devastating 25-yard free-kick into the top corner.

Scholes netted a third to virtually seal the tie shortly afterwards, before United picked up the pace near the end, van Nistelrooy slotting home a penalty before Ole Gunnar Solskjaer rounded off the win.

“It was a fantastic performance,” enthused Ferguson.

“Once we started at that pace it was going to be difficult for our opponents to match.

“It would have been difficult for anyone to have stopped us on that form. Zalaegerszeg had their night two weeks ago – tonight it was our turn.”