Manchester United suffered a major injury blow before their Champions League clash with Celtic with Park Ji-sung ruled out for three months with ankle ligament damage.

Alex Ferguson revealed on Tuesday the 25-year-old South Korea international was going for a scan after picking up an injury in training but expressed the hope that Park could be fit for tonight's encounter with the Scottish champions.

But United officials tonight confirmed Park will require an operation that could keep him out for three months, effectively ruling him out of all United's European group games plus a dozen Premiership matches.

Coming less than a fortnight after the transfer window closed, Park's absence could cause a major disruption to an already stretched United midfield.