SCHOLES OUT FOR SIX WEEKS

Paul Scholes will undergo an operation on his injured knee later this week and has been ruled out of action for between three and six weeks.

The surgery is a legacy of a tackle sustained in United's pre-season friendly with Ajax in the Amsterdam tournament. Scholes was sent home from Holland for a scan but played on when the season began. However, he hasn't been able to complete matches or to train fully.

Fergie:

"He hasn't been able to train properly, he has looked tired towards the end of games and we need to find out exactly what the problem is.

"The operation will rule him out for three to six weeks but it's difficult with knee injuries because there's no way of knowing what you might find. We don't know what the problem is at the moment and this operation will tell us how serious it is."

On England:

"He wasn't fit, it's as simple as that. If he had been fit he would have been there.

"There is not much point in the boy struggling. In the European game at Old Trafford against the Hungarians he did all right in the first half and then prior to his ankle injury he started to tire.

"The same applied to the Chelsea game. The lad needs full games and full training. Carrying on with the process that we were doing at the moment, bringing him in and then taking him out to rest him is no use to the lad.

"It's a difficult situation but we have to take our poison and get on with it. Injuries happen. It makes it quite clear what we can do now. Sometimes it is much better for the manager.

"The midfield picks itself, the front picks itself and the back four picks itself. People can pick my team now there is no need to guess."