Anderson relief for United

Manchester United midfielder Anderson faces three weeks on the sidelines after injuring his ankle in the Carling Cup semi-final second leg victory against Derby County on Tuesday. The news comes as a relief to boss Sir Alex Ferguson who feared the Brazilian faced a long lay-off after being stretchered off the pitch. "We sent Anderson for a scan and there's no break," confirmed Ferguson. "However, there was some ligament damage. We think he'll be out for three weeks." Ferguson also revealed that nine players would miss the FA Cup fourth round clash with Tottenham, adding: "The ones who are out are Rio Ferdinand, Anderson, Nani, Rafael, Patrice Evra, Wayne Rooney, Wes Brown, Jonny Evans and Ji-sung Park. "Nani suffered a groin injury and he'll be out for a week while Jonny Evans will be out for three weeks. "We still have Dimitar Berbatov, Carlos Tevez and Cristiano Ronaldo fit. But we will have to call on some young players. "The injuries are mainly to the defenders - I've got a whole back four out for Saturday. "I could play Darren Fletcher at right-back, with Gary Neville, Nemanja Vidic and John O'Shea, which would give me an experienced back four. But I've called in Richard Eckersley and Fabio, who could be involved. "Rio Ferdinand and Wes Brown could be back for the Everton game, if the match is on Monday. "It's not the best position to be in. January is a difficult month. We've talked a lot about having a winter break to get rid of the strains you pick up in January. But it's not to be. "The result is that the strains become injuries and the players miss matches."