Young out for two weeks

Manchester United winger Ashley Young has been ruled out for a fortnight with an ankle injury.

Young suffered the problem during Monday's derby clash with Manchester City and United boss Sir Alex Ferguson confirmed he faces a short spell on the sidelines.

"Ashley is out," he said. "He took a whack on his ankle. He will maybe miss two weeks."

The injury rules Young out of Sunday's match at Stoke, plus the encounters against West Ham and his former club Aston Villa.

Ferguson expects skipper Nemanja Vidic to return to training on Friday after recovering from a calf injury. In addition, Jonny Evans should be available this weekend after recovering from the hamstring strain that has kept him out of the last two games.

Ferguson also anticipates veteran midfielder Paul Scholes, who has been out of action since January 26 with a knee injury, will return to training on Monday.

"It will be a terrific boost to get his football intelligence back in the squad," said Ferguson.

"He has been out for a few weeks so we need to get him back out training with us."

Meanwhile, Ferguson responded to Roy Hodgson's fears about international breaks being used as a way of getting players fit by expressing his long-held skepticism of friendly dates.

"Look at the opposite side," he said. "International football interferes with the clubs' ambitions. Friendly games for a start. They have been doing it for the last decade, playing a friendly in the week before the season starts. Tell me the sense of that."