Sir Alex Ferguson, the Manchester United manager, was left to curse the international fixture calendar last night after Dimitar Berbatov was ruled out for up to ten days by an injury suffered when playing for Bulgaria this week.

Berbatov limped out of a 6-1 defeat by Serbia in a friendly match in Belgrade on Wednesday with a thigh problem and, after having the injury assessed by the club’s medical staff upon his return to Manchester yesterday, the striker’s mood will have darkened with the news that he is likely to miss United’s next three games.

As well as the Barclays Premier League match away to Aston Villa tomorrow evening, Berbatov is expected to be unavailable for the Champions League tie against Villarreal in Spain on Tuesday and the derby game away to Manchester City on Sunday week.

“According to United’s medical staff, Berbatov will be recovering for between seven and ten days,” Emil Dantchev, the player’s agent, said.

Berbatov’s injury could leave Ferguson short of options up front against Villa, with the United manager also sweating on the fitness of Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney. The latter missed England’s 2-1 victory away to Germany in Berlin on Wednesday because of a chest infection and calf problem, and the former will not return from Brazil until today after playing the full 90 minutes in Portugal’s 6-2 defeat at the Bezerrão Stadium outside Brasília.

There were also suggestions from Old Trafford last night that Wes Brown, the defender, may have undergone surgery to cure the ankle injury that has kept him out of action in recent weeks. With Gary Neville’s fitness a concern, that would leave Rafael Da Silva, the young Brazilian, and John O’Shea, a utility player, as Ferguson’s only options at right back.

However, Rio Ferdinand, who also missed the England match because of a back injury, and Ryan Giggs, who has a hamstring strain, should be fit.