Manchester United have lost goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar for EIGHT WEEKS.

The 38-year-old Dutch goalkeeper has this week undergone surgery on a broken finger and bone in his left hand, and will be out for up to eight weeks.

Van der Sar suffered the injury saving a penalty from Danijel Pranjic in United's 7-6 shoot-out defeat to Bayern Munich in the pre-season Audi Cup tournament in Germany.

The prognosis means that van der Sar won't be back to full fitness until the end of September, and therefore unlikely to be available for selection till either the Arsenal match on Saturday 29 August, or against Tottenham Hotspur a fortnight later after the international break.