Carrick had only just returned from an ankle injury

Manchester United midfielder Michael Carrick will be out for up to six weeks after it was revealed he has broken a bone in his foot.

The 28-year-old suffered the injury in a tackle by Yossi Benayoun in the first half of Saturday's 2-1 loss to Liverpool and left Anfield on crutches.

"It's not turned out well for us," said Sir Alex Ferguson.

"He has a small crack in his foot which was diagnosed on Sunday afternoon. It isn't good news."

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He was forced to pull out of the England squad for the friendly against the Czech Republic and subsequently missed the two World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Croatia.

Carrick's latest injury will also rule him out of England's next two qualifers against Kazakhstan and Belarus next month.

He will miss United's opening Champions League game against Villarreal on Wednesday, their second against Aalborg on 30 September and possibly their third against Celtic on 21 October.