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Wayne Rooney, the Manchester United striker, will be out for two months after fracturing his foot on the opening day of the season against Reading, his club revealed today.

Rooney suffered the hairline fracture to his left foot in a clash with Michael Duberry as United began the defence of their Barclays Premier League title with a disappointing goalless draw at home to Reading.

It is the third time he has suffered such an injury, which could not have come at a worse time for the player, or Steve McClaren, the England manager.

The forward will miss the critical European Championship qualifying matches at home to Israel and Russia on September 8 and 12 respectively, as well as next week's friendly international with Germany and it will be touch and go whether he is available for the the return match against Russia in Moscow and the home game against Estonia, both in the middle of October.

It is a similar story at club level with Manchester United - having recently sold strikers Alan Smith and Guiseppe Rossi - doing without him for the opening stages of their Premier League and Champions League campaigns.

“We are putting it at two months. He should be back training in that time but I can’t put an exact date on when he will be back playing," Sir Alex Ferguson, the Manchester United manager, said. “It is a bad blow, not just for us, but obviously for England as well.”

Ferguson confirmed that new arrival Carlos Tevez will start Wednesday’s Premier League match at Portsmouth, and revealed he spoke to Steve McClaren yesterday evening to give him the bad news.

“I am obviously disappointed and I could sense Steve’s disappointment as well," he added. “It is obviously bad news for England but they should be able to cope without him against Israel and Russia - and by the time we get to the October matches I would expect him to be back by then.”

Ferguson’s optimism would require Rooney to hit his recovery target exactly if he is to make the October 13 qualifier against Estonia and the vital trip to Moscow for the Russia rematch four days later.

The United boss is acutely aware that Rooney was back in action within six weeks when he broke his foot prior to the 2006 World Cup - but it was deemed to be far too soon for the young striker, who failed to produce anything like his best form in Germany.

Rooney missed 14 weeks after suffering a similar injury during Euro 2004, which delayed his debut for United following his £27 million move from Everton.

The incident occurred near the end of the first half of the 0-0 draw at Old Trafford when Rooney fired a low cross from Michael Carrick just over the crossbar. In attempting to make a tackle, Michael Duberry accidentally trod on Rooney’s foot.

It was clear instantly the former Everton striker had a problem, as he went down and removed his boot. Although he was able to continue briefly, he did not reappear for the second half, with Ferguson sending the 21-year-old for a scan.

Although Ferguson expressed the hope the damage would not be too bad, his worst fears now appear to have been confirmed with Rooney to miss United's forthcoming Premier League encounters with Portsmouth, Manchester City and Tottenham this month and matches against Sunderland, Everton, Chelsea and Birmingham in September.