London  - Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson will have use all his managerial skills this weekend after Dimitar Berbatov added to his striking woes by being ruled out for two weeks with an ankle injury.

The Bulgaria striker suffered the injury in the defeat against Fulham two weeks ago and will therefore miss Sunday's clash with Aston Villa and both legs of the club's Champions League quarter-final with Porto.

United are already without the suspended Wayne Rooney, while Ferguson will assess the fitness of Carlos Tevez after his return from Argentina's 6-1 defeat in Bolivia in midweek.

Ferguson does have Cristiano Ronaldo available, and could also push Ryan Giggs forward.

United sit one point clear of Liverpool at the top of the English Premier League, but could find themselves second by the time they kick off on Sunday, if Liverpool win at Fulham 24 hours beforehand. dpa