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Sir Alex Ferguson has ruled out the possibility of plunging into the transfer market to solve Manchester United’s striking crisis.

Confirmation Wayne Rooney suffered a hairline fracture of his left foot during yesterday’s goalless draw with Reading only worsened an already difficult situation for the United manager. Louis Saha and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer have only just returned to training after long-term problems, while Carlos Tevez is effectively only a week into his pre-season after an extended lay-off following Argentina’s Copa America campaign.

Ferguson is so short of striking options that he ended up with John O’Shea, a defender, partnering attacking midfielder Cristiano Ronaldo up front against Steve Coppell’s side.

The Scot, though, will resist the temptation to bring in another forward before the transfer window closes at the end of this month, with Tevez almost certain to be handed his debut against Portsmouth on Wednesday.

“Carlos Tevez is available now and Louis Saha and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer are training,” said Ferguson. “With Wayne as well, we have four strikers so I am not looking at a situation where I have to add to that number.”

Nevertheless, the loss of Rooney for an extended period, following hot on the heels of the sales of Alan Smith and Giuseppe Rossi, presents a problem United could well do without.

Old Trafford officials have so far declined to reveal either the precise nature of Rooney’s injury, nor offer a recovery time.

However, given that he left the ground with his foot in plaster last night, it would be a major surprise if Rooney was back in action within two months, ruling him out of a succession of key fixtures for club and country, including four crucial Euro 2008 qualifiers.

“There was a bit of swelling around the injury,” said Ferguson. “There was no point him continuing because we have a long season ahead.”