Immediately after the match Alex Ferguson said he thought Heinze had only suffered medial ligament damage and would be out for a few weeks.

However, a scan yesterday revealed the damage to be far worse than Ferguson originally feared, with Heinze suffering the same problem skipper Roy Keane had eight years ago.

Although Ferguson has refused to rule out Heinze from the campaign altogether it appears unlikely he will return and he also faces a race against time to be fit for Argentina’s World Cup campaign in Germany next year.

It is a major blow for Ferguson and his team. Already without Keane (hamstring), Gary Neville (thigh), Wes Brown (thigh), plus long-term casualties Quinton Fortune, Louis Saha and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, the United squad is low on numbers for Sunday’s Barclays Premiership trip to Liverpool.