Ferguson reveals Smalling blow

Manchester United defender Chris Smalling has been ruled out for a month with a fractured bone in his foot, Alex Ferguson has confirmed.

The former Fulham man suffered the injury in training and is joined on the sidelines by Ashley Young, who is expected to miss two weeks due to a toe injury.

“Smalling has a small fracture on his foot,” United manager Ferguson told MUTV following his side’s 1-0 victory at Everton on Saturday.

“I think he’ll be out for a month and it’s unfortunate that one.”

“Ashley Young has a toe injury that is not going away so he could be out for a couple of weeks.”

The United boss delivered better news on Tom Cleverley, who was substituted in the 55th minute of Saturday’s 1-0 win over Everton as a precaution and is expected to feature in the English Premier League clash against Sunderland next Saturday.

“He’s felt his ankle again,” Ferguson said.

“It’s nothing serious, just tightness and tiredness. It’s his first real game back, although he played on Tuesday at Aldershot. He should be okay next week and it was an excellent performance from him in the first half.”