Manchester United may be without last season's first-choice back four for their next two games, against Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal.
Patrice Evra, the left-back, missed Sunday's 2-1 victory over West Bromwich Albion with a knee injury, the right-back, Rafael, dislocated a shoulder before the match, and then the centre-backs Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic both limped off.
United announced before the match that Brazilian Rafael will be out for the next 10 weeks after hurting his shoulder in training.
The Premier League champions' defensive problems deepened once the match was underway, with their two experienced central defenders forced off with injuries in the second half.
Vidic struggled for most of the game with a knee injury before coming off in the 52nd minute and is expected to be out for at least two weeks.
Ferdinand faces a longer spell on the sidelines with a hamstring injury which forced him off 15 minutes from time and is expected to be out for six weeks, ruling him out of England's Euro 2012 qualifiers against Wales and Bulgaria next month.
Speaking afterwards, manager Sir Alex Ferguson told Sky Sports: "We've had a rough time with injuries. Young Rafa has done his shoulder in training … and will be out for 10 weeks. He's probably going to have an operation.
"Rio will be out for six weeks. Vida will have checks on Monday, we don't know if it's just a nerve or something, but he could be out for a couple of weeks."
Evra may recover in time for Monday's opening home game of the season against Tottenham, but his three teammates, who formed United's back line for the majority of 2010/11, will be out.
A bigger worry for Ferguson is that Vidic, the United captain, will not be back in time to travel to title rivals Arsenal the following Sunday.
United said Chris Smalling, the England international, will fill at right-back while Rafael's twin brother, Fabio, started on the left against West Brom.
With the experienced duo John O'Shea and Wes Brown having moved to Sunderland in the summer, it means Ferguson is down to the bare bones defensively already.
Johnny Evans and Phil Jones, a summer signing from Blackburn Rovers, will probably play at centre-back, making the average age of United's defence just 21.
* Agencies
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Director: Laxman Utekar
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Quick facts on cancer
- Cancer is the second-leading cause of death worldwide, after cardiovascular diseases
- About one in five men and one in six women will develop cancer in their lifetime
- By 2040, global cancer cases are on track to reach 30 million
- 70 per cent of cancer deaths occur in low and middle-income countries
- This rate is expected to increase to 75 per cent by 2030
- At least one third of common cancers are preventable
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If you go
The flights
There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.
The trip
Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.
The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Set-jetting on the Emerald Isle
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Test
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Star rating: 2/5
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Price, base: Dh138,000 (estimate)
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NO OTHER LAND
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Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
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TOUCH RULES
Touch is derived from rugby league. Teams consist of up to 14 players with a maximum of six on the field at any time.
Teams can make as many substitutions as they want during the 40 minute matches.
Similar to rugby league, the attacking team has six attempts - or touches - before possession changes over.
A touch is any contact between the player with the ball and a defender, and must be with minimum force.
After a touch the player performs a “roll-ball” - similar to the play-the-ball in league - stepping over or rolling the ball between the feet.
At the roll-ball, the defenders have to retreat a minimum of five metres.
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At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
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Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
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Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
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Student Of The Year 2
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