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BIRMINGHAM, England (AP) -Aston Villa striker John Carew will be sidelined for up to six weeks with a knee injury.
Carew was hurt during Villa's 2-0 win over Everton in the Premier League on Sunday.
Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill said Carew would miss Wednesday's League Cup match against Leicester and Premier League games against Tottenham and West Ham.
"He has definitely got a ligament problem and we're looking at maybe the four to six weeks," O'Neill said Tuesday. "It came as he was stretching for a ball. Somebody fell on top of him and he twisted it."
Marlon Harewood or Gabriel Agbonlahor will now likely partner Luke Moore in attack.
"It's a blow because he's a key player for us," O'Neill said. "Even when Carew wasn't scoring goals, I still think he was a handful for the opposition."
Carew played in all of Villa's six Premier League games this season and scored one goal.
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MANCHESTER, England (AP) - Manchester United defender Mikael Silvestre could return from a knee injury earlier than expected.
Silvestre was hurt on Sept. 15 in United's 1-0 win over Everton in the Premier League. He caught his studs in the turf and fell awkwardly, twisting his knee. United initially thought Silvestre would be out for the rest of the season, but manager Alex Ferguson said he could be back by March.
"We had him operated on in France last week and it all went well," Ferguson said. "It was pleasing to see there was no further damage other than the cruciate ligament. That's a big bonus because sometimes there can be cartilage problems that also come along."
In another boost, defender and captain Gary Neville began training this week after numerous injuries. Neville last played for Manchester United in March.
"He's been unlucky and just had one injury on top of another," Ferguson said. "It's just an accumulation of small injuries that has set him back. Hopefully he's now on the mend and we're looking forward to having him back."
