Van der Sar body blow for United

MANCHESTER United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar is expected to be sidelined for eight weeks after undergoing surgery on a broken finger and bone in his left hand.

The 38–year–old Dutchman sustained the injury saving a penalty from Danijel Pranjic in the Red Devils’ 7–6 shoot–out defeat to Bayern Munich in the pre–season Audi Cup in Germany.

Van der Sar is not expected to be back in Sir Alex Ferguson’s plans until late September, meaning the Scot will have to turn to either Ben Foster or Tomasz Kuszczak for the start of the new season.

Meanwhile, Ferguson says Chelsea will pose the biggest threat to United’s dream of a fourth consecutive Premier League title.