Injured United defender Silvestre out for season

MANCHESTER, England, Mar 14 (Reuters) Manchester United defender Mikael Silvestre has been ruled out for the rest of the season after injuring his shoulder against Lille last week, the club confirmed today.

Silvestre, 29, dislocated his shoulder during stoppage time in United's Champions League win over Lille at Old Trafford last Wednesday and has undergone surgery.

A club spokeswoman told United's website: ''Mikael required surgery to stabilise the joint. The surgery took place on Monday. He will be back in training in three months.'' Silvestre adds to a worrying injury list for United as they pursue a possible treble of Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup trophies.

Edwin van der Sar, Louis Saha, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Darren Fletcher are all currently sidelined, while Henrik Larsson has ended a loan spell and has returned to Helsingborg.

However, manager Alex Ferguson said last night that he expects van der Sar, Saha and Solskjaer to return in time to face Blackburn Rovers in the league on March 31.

Fletcher is also expected back in a few weeks, while Ferguson reported that although defenders Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic missed United's Celebration Match win over a Europe XI on Tuesday night with minor injuries, they will be fit to face Bolton on Saturday.

United won an entertaining friendly 4-3 at Old Trafford in front of 74,000 fans.

REUTERS SAM HS1414