Man Utd's Chris Smalling out for month with broken toe

Manchester United defender Chris Smalling faces a month on the sidelines with a broken toe.

"He has a small fracture and I think he'll be out for a month," said manager Sir Alex Ferguson of the 21-year-old, who did not take part in United's 1-0 win over Everton on Saturday.

Another absentee, Ashley Young, will be out for two weeks with a toe problem.

Midfielder Tom Cleverley, substituted with an ankle problem against Everton, should be fit for next Saturday's game.

“He's felt his ankle again, it's nothing serious, just tightness and tiredness”

Ferguson on Cleverley

The United manager told club channel MUTV  Cleverley's problem was not too serious and that he was taken off as a precaution.

"He's felt his ankle again - it's nothing serious, just tightness and tiredness," he said.

"It's his first real game back, although he played on Tuesday [at Aldershot] of course. He should be OK next week [against Sunderland] and it was an excellent performance from him in the first half."

He added: "Ashley's injury is not going away so he could be out for a couple of weeks."

The injury to Smalling means he is likely to miss England's forthcoming friendlies against Spain and Denmark at Wembley in mid-November.