Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the Manchester United and former Norway forward, will today announce his retirement from football, having finally succumbed to the knee injury that has troubled him for the past four years. The 34-year-old bowed to the inevitable after consultation with medical staff and is expected to confirm the news today, with concern about the impact on Sir Alex Ferguson’s squad outweighed by the sense of loss felt by all at Old Trafford.

Solskjaer is certain to be remembered as one of the most popular players in United’s history, having scored the dramatic stoppage-time goal that beat Bayern Munich in the Champions League final in Barcelona in 1999. Teammates often joked that he could have retired on the back of that goal, but, almost as much, it was his professionalism that secured his place in the affections of United’s supporters, players and officials, with the club eager to find a position that will enable him to stay on in either a coaching or an ambassadorial role. He is also certain to be offered a testimonial in view of his service since joining United from Molde for a bargain fee of £1.5 million in the summer of 1996.

Ferguson will lead the tributes to Solskjaer today, having often described him as the best substitute the game has seen and one of the most loyal servants in the club’s history. It was partly in a bid to reward that loyalty that the club offered him a new two-year contract in March 2006, after he had spent 2½ years fighting what had appeared a losing battle against cruciate ligament damage. Against all expectations, Solskjaer made a significant contribution to United’s title success last season, scoring 11 goals, including seven in 19 Premier League appearances.

Solskjaer, having scored 126 goals in 366 appearances for United, was hopeful of reappearing this season when he underwent a minor knee operation in Norway in June, but his rehabilitation has been more problematic this time. He recently admitted that he expected this to be his last season, but a setback in the past fortnight led to renewed fears about his future and, finally, after consultation with numerous experts, he has taken the decision to retire.

His name is certain to be sung long and loud for many years at Old Trafford, but, in the short term, his retirement creates a problem for Ferguson, who has been concerned in recent weeks that his striker department is undermanned. Although he signed Carlos Tévez from West Ham United earlier this month, Ferguson sold Alan Smith to Newcastle United and Giuseppe Rossi to Villarreal and has since lost Wayne Rooney to a hairline fracture of the foot for at least another fortnight.

There are also concerns over the fitness of Louis Saha, the France forward, whose latest comeback attempt was aborted at the weekend when he pulled out of the home game against Tottenham Hotspur. Saha has started only one Premier League match since January 1 and, although he should be fit to face Sunderland on Saturday, his persistent knee problems are causing concern, particularly in view of a possible call-up to the France squad next week for European Championship qualifying matches.

United recently put feelers out through favoured agents in the hope of finding a new centre forward, but their principal target, Dimitar Berbatov, of Tottenham, is not for sale at present. Nicolas Anelka, of Bolton Wanderers, remains an option, albeit one that Ferguson has been ambivalent about since an informal initial inquiry in June.

Fabio and Rafael Silva, the 17-year-old Brazilian twins, have revealed that they hope to complete their move to Old Trafford in January. United secured a double deal to sign the attacking full backs from Fluminense in May 2006, initially with a view to them moving to Manchester next summer, but the pair have said that they hope to be given clearance to complete their joint-transfer in January.