Manchester United defender Mikael Silvestre has been ruled out for six weeks with a broken metatarsal.

The France international picked up the injury in the Premiership defeat to Arsenal earlier this month.

He becomes the latest member of the United squad to suffer such a setback, following on from the likes of Gary Neville and Wayne Rooney.

It means the former Inter Milan star will not be available again until mid-November, although manager Alex Ferguson has ready-made alternatives for the left-back role in Gabriel Heinze and Patrice Evra.

With Ryan Giggs still a fortnight away from recovery after a recent hamstring injury, Ferguson will stick with the same squad that defeated Benfica on Tuesday when his side play Newcastle on Sunday.