Man Utd hit by double injury blow

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson says Gary Neville and John O'Shea will miss the "next few weeks" after picking up injuries on Wednesday.

Neville and O'Shea limped off during the 2-0 win over Portsmouth that sent United three points clear of Liverpool at the top of the Premier League.

Ferguson said: "They are both looking at being out for weeks, because of two pretty bad tackles on them.

"We've had a bad time at right-back but Wes Brown is coming back."

Ferguson revealed that Brown is likely to play for the club's reserves against Newcastle on Thursday and could play for the first-team's at home against Tottenham on Saturday.

"Wes is fine. He is training hard and should be OK for the weekend," United assistant manager Mike Phelan told BBC Radio Manchester.

Neville was the first to limp off after only 13 minutes after a clash with Nadir Belhadj, and his replacement O'Shea was taken off after 52 minutes.

Ferguson added: "They were both bad tackles but the referee didn't do anything about either of them and that's disappointing.

"You normally expect some firm discipline from Peter Walton - but not tonight."

Ferguson watched his team create a plethora of chances against Pompey, but they had to wait until Michael Carrick's 82nd-minute goal to wrap the points up.

He admitted they could have been made to pay for their wastefulness in front of goal.

"The first half was fantastic, but we missed so many good chances and you only encourage your opponents then," said Ferguson.

"We did make it hard for ourselves. They got to the byline and you just think 'we're going to throw this away'.

"It only takes a second to score a goal and both Glen Johnson and Jermaine Pennant got into great positions - you're risking the game because you haven't taken your chances."

United moved three points ahead of Liverpool in the Premier League and they still have a game in hand, but Ferguson says the title race is far from over.

"We're in a better position tonight than we were on Monday, but there's a long way to go," said the Scot.

"Six games seems like a short time but it can be a long time and the players had a little warning today.

"If you don't take your chances you do make it hard for yourself, and in first half some of our play was stunning."