Trio out of United clash

Manchester United will be without Dimitar Berbatov, Rio Ferdinand and Wes Brown for Saturday's trip to Aston Villa .

United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed that Berbatov will miss at least two games - against Villa and Villarreal in the Champions League on Tuesday - with a hamstring injury sustained on international duty with Bulgaria during the week.

Elsewhere, Ferdinand is still troubled by the back problem which forced his absence from the England squad for Wednesday's friendly with Germany, while Brown will be sidelined for up to five weeks following exploratory surgery on an ankle injury.

"Rio is very doubtful for tomorrow, I don't think he'll make it," Ferguson told the club's official website.

"Wes will be missing for a few weeks. There's no timescale on it, but it may be about four to five weeks.

"It's disappointing, but we've got cover with Gary (Neville) and Rafael, and John O'Shea can also play there."

However, Ferguson has received some positive news after discovering that Wayne Rooney could be back for the trip to Villa Park following illness.

The striker also missed England's 2-1 friendly win in Berlin but is set to return for the clash with Martin O'Neill's fifth-placed side on Saturday evening.

"Rooney has a good chance, he trained on Wednesday and Thursday and if he comes through today he should be involved," he added.