Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has been ruled out of Sunday's Carling Cup final against Aston Villa.

The England captain did not play in Tuesday night's 3-0 league win over West Ham United because of a recurring back injury and it seems he won't get up for the final at Wembley.

''He tweaked his back in training and he won't be ready for Sunday,'' said manager Sir Alex Ferguson. ''It is unfortunate for him that he's going to miss a couple of games.''