Gary Neville and John O'Shea

Manchester United FC's defensive injury curse has struck again after the club confirmed right-backs Gary Neville and John O'Shea will be sidelined "for weeks" after hobbling out of Wednesday's 2-0 Premier League victory over Portsmouth FC.
Ferdinand rested
Neville lasted just 13 minutes at Old Trafford before being forced off with a right foot problem, and his replacement, O'Shea, fared little better as he made way for Rafael soon after half-time. "They're going to be out for weeks and that's a disappointment," said Sir Alex Ferguson, who was at least able to allay fears over Rio Ferdinand after the centre-back was left out against Portsmouth. "The fact Rio had played extra time [in Sunday's FA Cup semi-final defeat by Everton FC] after only just coming back from two or three weeks out meant it was too big a risk," said Sir Alex. "There was nothing wrong with his groin, it was just tiredness."
Problem position
That will be some comfort for United but the right-back position remains problematic, with the first leg of their UEFA Champions League semi-final against Arsenal FC looming on 29 April. Rafael has himself only recently returned from an ankle injury, while last season's first choice right-back Wes Brown has been unavailable for most of the campaign because of a problem with his ankle. He did, however, play an hour for United's reserves against Preston North End FC on Monday. The win against Portsmouth restored United to the Premier League summit, with the Red Devils three points above Liverpool FC with a game in hand.