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Manchester United captain Nemanja Vidić has been ruled out for up to 2 months after his knee injury was confirmed as far worse than first feared.
30-year-old Vidic has had successful knee surgery in the past 24 hours and will now begin his rehabilitation.
The club has issued a statement on their official website:
"Nemanja Vidic has had a meniscus operation on his right knee and will be out for around eight weeks.
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson rested Vidic as a precautionary measure at the weekend after he complained of tightness in his knee. However, further medical investigation revealed the underlying problem.
The central defender was operated on this week and will be sidelined for about eight weeks."
This could not have come at a worse time for Manchester United, with Chris Smalling and Phil Jones already out with long term injuries.