Ferdinand ruled out for six weeks as Fabregas finally joins Barca

The former international captain limped off in the second half of the 2-1 victory at The Hawthorns and manager Sir Alex Ferguson revealed after the game Ferdinand will miss six weeks, meaning he will be out until the start of October.

It means the 32-year-old would miss the games against Arsenal and Chelsea and England’s two Euro 2012 qualifiers against Bulgaria and Wales.

Fellow central defender Nemanja Vidic also succumbed to injury yesterday, struggling with a calf problem in the opening minutes before eventually coming off just after half-time.

Ferdinand appears the most serious is also expected to miss the start of United’s latest Champions League quest.

“Rio has a hamstring injury. He will be out for six weeks,” said Ferguson. “With Nemanja, we hope it is a nerve in his calf.

“He felt it prior to the game but he wanted to play. That may be a couple of weeks.”

With young full-back Rafael ruled out for 10 weeks after dislocating his shoulder in training, Ferguson suddenly has a worrying list of defensive problems ahead of a difficult start, that now pits his side against Tottenham and Arsenal at Old Trafford over the next fortnight. The bright spot for Ferguson is the anticipated return of Patrice Evra from a knee injury against Spurs next Monday.

“We can always put Fabio on the right if we need to. We also have Chris Smalling, so we will get through,” said Ferguson.

Liverpool were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Sunderland and Arsenal drew 0-0 at Newcastle on Saturday.

The Gunners last night confirmed Cesc Fabregas had finally got his dream move back to Barcelona after they agreed terms for the sale of their captain.

While the Gunners were always determined to keep Fabregas, who joined them from the Spanish club in 2003 as a raw teenager, it became clear this summer the player was no longer committed to the Arsenal cause.

The European champions had seen a £27m offer rebuffed earlier in the summer as Arsenal remained steadfast in their demands over a £40m fee for their midfielder.

However, with Barcelona not willing to significantly up their cash bid, and Gunners manager Arsene Wenger admitting the player was unsettled, Arsenal reluctantly have allowed a cut-price deal to go through. The package is widely reported to include a down payment of £27m, with an additional £5.2m in performance-based add-ons at a later stage.

There are also suggestions Fabregas is prepared to waive the £4m compensation he would be entitled to for the remainder of his long-term Arsenal contract, as technically the player never asked for a transfer.

Wenger expressed his disappointment at Fabregas’s departure.

“We have been clear that we didn’t want Cesc to leave and that remains the case,” he said.

“However, we understand Cesc’s desire to move to his home town club and have now accepted an offer from Barcelona.

“We thank Cesc for his contribution at Arsenal and wish him future success.”