Manchester United's hopes of re-establishing themselves as England's premier club were dealt a major setback last night with the news that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will miss the entire season because of his persistent knee problems.
The latest development will revive speculation about United's willingness to entice Wayne Rooney to Old Trafford and there must be genuine fears about whether Solskjaer's career could be over at the age of 31.
Solskjaer first damaged the cartilage in his right knee during United's Champions League tie against Panathinaikos last September. Although he returned to the team towards the end of the season, he has continued to suffer pain, and after taking the advice of United's medical staff he went to see a specialist, Dr Lars Petersson, in Gothenburg on Sunday.
"It will take at least one year before Ole can play football again," said Petersson. "There is a good chance of him playing football again, but I cannot give any guarantees."
A United spokesman said: "Ole underwent an arthroscopy and this unfortunately confirmed persistent damage to the articular cartilage. He will undergo further treatment but it is likely he will miss the whole of this season."
His absence means Ferguson will be restricted to choosing from five strikers this season, a situation he might ordinarily find satisfactory were it not for the fact he has serious reservations about whether Diego Forlan or David Bellion is equipped for the demands of the Premiership and the European Cup.
A serious attempt to accelerate Rooney's departure from Goodison Park cannot be ruled out, but after all the rumours and counter-rumours the indications from Old Trafford last night were that they still consider Everton's £30 million-plus valuation exorbitant.
The club will have to re-evaluate the situation in the light of Solskjaer's diagnosis. The bad news was not entirely unexpected, however, and they will feel that the arrival of Alan Smith compensates them in that department.
Solskjaer may now travel to the US where several athletes have had their knees rebuilt using a new technique that involves transferring the cartilage from a dead donor. This might be his last option if he is to play top-flight football again.
In the short term, Ferguson is also without the injured Louis Saha and Ruud van Nistelrooy, leaving them with severely depleted resources as they fly to Romania this morning for the first leg of tomorrow's Champions League qualifying tie against Dinamo Bucharest. Cristiano Ronaldo and Gabriel Heinze, the summer recruit from Paris St Germain, are preparing for the Olympics with Portugal and Argentina respectively, Rio Ferdinand's suspension rules him out until September 20th and Wes Brown, Kleberson and Liam Miller are injured.
Ferguson is entitled to believe his squad is robust enough to negotiate a safe passage into the competition's group stages, with Quinton Fortune filling in at left back, John O'Shea deputising as centre half and Paul Scholes partnering Alan Smith in attack.
A sterner test lies ahead when United begin their Premiership campaign with a trip to Chelsea, when Darren Fletcher's one-match suspension for a sending-off at Aston Villa on the final day of last season means they will arrive at Stamford Bridge with 10 players missing.
United Injury list
Rio Ferdinand (suspended) Due back: Sept 20th v Liverpool
Kleberson (knee injury) Due back: unsure
Gabriel Heinze (Olympics) Due back: Sept 11th v Bolton
Cristiano Ronaldo (Olympics) Due back: Sept 11th v Bolton
Wes Brown (Achilles injury) Due back: Sept 11th v Bolton
Louis Saha (knee injury) Due back: Sept 11th v Bolton
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (knee injury) Due back: could be out for season
Ruud van Nistelrooy (hernia) Due back: Sept 11th v Bolton
Darren Fletcher (suspended) Due back: Aug 29th v Blackburn
Fletcher is available for Champions League encounters with Dinamo Bucharest
MANCHESTER UNITED'S FIXTURES: Tomorrow: Dinamo Bucharest (A), Sunday: Chelsea (A), Aug 22nd: Norwich (H), Aug 25th: Dinamo Bucharest (H), Aug 29th: Blackburn (A), Aug 31st: Everton (H)
