Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov is out of Bulgaria's World Cup qualifiers with an ankle injury.

The Bulgaria captain sustained the injury in his club's 2-0 defeat to Fulham yesterday, where he was substituted at half-time.

"There's no chance of Berbatov playing against Ireland and Cyprus," said Bulgaria team doctor Mihail Iliev. "The injury will prevent any kind of football-related activity for the next two weeks.

"I have talked to the Manchester United medical staff and I am expecting a fax with the details of the medical scans.

"We are talking about a muscle tear, which means his foot will be immovable for two weeks. It is most likely that he aggravated his old ankle injury."