Manchester United have suffered an injury setback with Sir Alex Ferguson revealing Nemanja Vidic will be out until Christmas – at least a month longer than first thought.

The United captain had an operation for a torn meniscus in his right knee in late September, with the prognosis then that he would miss around two months. But Ferguson, United's manager, told MUTV: "I think we're talking around December for Vidic. Maybe around Christmas time."

Vidic had previously injured a cruciate ligament last December that ruled him out for the remainder of last season.