SOCCER:Manchester United's hopes of fending off Arsenal in this season's title race were dealt a considerable blow last night with the news that Paul Scholes is to miss the next three months through injury.

The midfielder visited a specialist in London yesterday to have a scan that revealed he had damaged knee ligaments and will need an operation. That will take place on Thursday and he will not play again until early February.

The repercussions for United will be partly offset by the return of Michael Carrick, who has had an X-ray on a broken arm and been cleared to resume full training. Owen Hargreaves suffered no reaction after Saturday's defeat of Middlesbrough, his first start since September 1st, while Gary Neville will return from a seven-month lay-off in a reserve game on Thursday.

Yet Scholes, even at 32, is still a mandatory first-team pick for United's bigger games and his absence will be a setback for Alex Ferguson as he prepares a side to face Arsenal on Saturday.

The former England international has been playing a more deep-lying role over the past nine months, at the base of midfield in a new 4-2-3-1 system and making fewer runs into opposition territory.

His passing was one of the more significant factors behind United deposing Chelsea as champions, and he has been one of their more impressive performers this season.

Ferguson can console himself with the knowledge he has built a strong enough squad to cope with a few injuries and has accomplished candidates for the two holding midfield places in the shape of Hargreaves, Carrick and Anderson, whose form has slowly been improving.

Neville's return represents much better news, with the defender scheduled to play against Stockport in the Manchester Senior Cup on Thursday. Neville, who has suffered ankle, calf and thigh injuries, returned to full training a fortnight ago.

"I've made myself available," he said. "But with the way Wes (Brown) is playing it might be a case of easing me back in over the space of a couple of weeks."

Neville also faces a serious challenge for a place in the England team, a role that has gone to Micah Richards of Manchester City, and it is highly unlikely the 32-year-old will be ready for the friendly in Austria on November 16th or the Euro 2008 qualifier against Croatia five days later.

The priority, he says, is re-establishing himself in the United side. "It's been too long. Missing the end of last season was bad enough but then for it to go into this season has been doubly frustrating. "