London - Manchester United confirmed on Wednesday that Dimitar Berbatov will miss Thursday's Club World Cup semi-final with Gamba Osaka after picking up a virus.

The 27-year-old has been unable to train since the club arrived in Japan on Monday. That means Carlos Tevez will almost certainly start alongside Wayne Rooney.

Manager Sir Alex Ferguson refused to confirm his starting line-up, but did say that forward Cristiano Ronaldo, midfielder Ryan Giggs and full-back Gary Neville will play, while Paul Scholes will make his first start since undergoing knee surgery in September. (dpa)