Rooney out for 2 months

United have confirmed that Wayne Rooney will be sidelined for two months after suffering a hairline fracture of his left foot against Reading on Sunday.

The 21-year-old Reds striker was forced off at half-time after clashing with Michael Duberry shortly before the break whilst stretching to reach Michael Carrick's cross.

The forward was sent for a scan after the match which confirmed the fracture, and an early-season blow for the Reds.

At a press conference to unveil Anderson and the player likely to step in for Rooney, Carlos Tevez, Sir Alex Ferguson revealed the hammer blow which will see United lose Rooney until October, but alluded to a slight possibility that Rooney could return sooner than expected.

However, metatarsal injuries, as Wayne is well aware, make it difficult to predict specific comeback dates.

"We're putting it down to two months," confirmed the manager. "But you never know with these kind of fractures, hopefully it will be sooner, but that's the timescale we're putting on it at the moment.

" He should be back in training by that time but I can't put an exact date on when he will be back playing. It is a bad blow, not just for us, but obviously for England as well."

The boss also confirmed that he will not dip into the transfer market to find extra cover, having already added Carlos Tevez to his striking ranks last week.

"That should be it," he added. "We've got a good squad and we have alternatives to compensate for Wayne's loss."