Scholes missed the recent qualifiers with the same problem

Scholes will see a specialist on Monday to discuss the hernia problem that has dogged him for several months.

And United manager Sir Alex Ferguson admitted that the most likely outcome would be a third operation, putting him out of action for at least a month.

"We still don't know what we will do about Paul, but the bad news is that the problem hasn't improved with rest, so it's likely that he will need an operation," he said.

It's bad news for us with big Champions League games coming up Man Utd manager Sir Alex Ferguson

"It would be his third hernia operation and because of that his recovery would take longer than normal.

"Normally a player would be back as quickly as 17 days out after surgery. After a third operation the recuperation time is a month or longer.

"That's why we were hoping that a period of rest would allow the injury to settle down, but Paul is still very tender and I think that's bad news for us with big Champions League games coming up."

England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson was also without Scholes for the recent qualifiers against Macedonia and Liechtenstein but his absence against Turkey could potentially solve a selection headache.

In the latter game, Wayne Rooney impressed playing in a deeper role behind Michael Owen and James Beattie, a space which Scholes would normally occupy.