Brown blow rocks United

Sir Alex Ferguson's hopes of lifting the gloom over Old Trafford received a further jolt yesterday with the news that he may lose defender Wes Brown for the rest of the season.

The Manchester United manager had tried to rally his side by suggesting they could still capture the Champions League, despite a run of disappointing domestic results.

United face Portuguese champions Boavista at home tonight in the second game of phase two, knowing victory would send them into Europe's winter break in a healthy position in Group A.

But Ferguson's plans may be thrown into disarray by the results of today's scan on Brown who, club physiotherapists fear, has damaged cruciate ligaments. If so, he may not play again for up to a year. Brown will be out for at least three months if damage is limited to his medial ligament. But, despite the possible consequences of Brown's injury, suffered in training on Monday, Ferguson is thinking positively.

He said: 'When you qualify for the second phase, you start to think that the European Cup is very much alive and a possibility. It is a very open competition this season, as open as I remember.

'There are six or seven teams that could figure at the end and win it. We need a good level of performance. It was very good against Bayern Munich. The players are understanding a lot about the European game. That gives us a good chance.'

Ferguson broke his recent media silence yesterday, speaking to the written Press on the insistence of UEFA rules. With back-to-back defeats against Arsenal and Chelsea following the 1-1 draw against Bayern Munich, United go into tonight's game beset with worries, compounded by Brown's injury.

At the forefront of Ferguson's mind is whether to ask captain Roy Keane to play once more at centre back, as he did during Saturday's 3-0 home rout by Chelsea.