Manchester United dealt injury blow after £27.5m transfer addition Marouane Fellaini ruled out for seven weeks

The midfielder damaged wrist ligaments forcing him to miss the 2-1 victory over Sunderland at the weekend

Marouane Fellaini has been ruled out for seven weeks after damaging ligaments in his wrist (GETTY IMAGES)

Manchester United have been dealt a blow with the news that £27.5m signing Marouane Fellaini faces up to seven weeks on the sidelines after he damaged ligaments in his wrist, forcing him to miss the the 2-1 victory over Sunderland on Saturday.

The Belgium international faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines, having been informed of the injury by a specialist in Manchester, and he will undergo further assessment when he links up with the national side later today – although he will not feature for his country in their upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Croatia and Wales.

Should Fellaini miss the majority of the next two months of the season, United will be without him for the league visit of Arsenal, and he faces a race against time to return for the trips to Bayer Leverkusen and Tottenham.

Manager David Moyes admitted after the game that the prognosis “doesn’t look good” for the midfielder, with the centre of the park identified as a weakness already in United’s squad this season.

“He's going to see a specialist,” said Moyes. “It doesn't sound too good but we'll wait and find out on Monday.”

Fellaini may also be forced to wear a protective brace on his wrist when he returns to action, joining Wayne Rooney in the protective accessories department as the striker continues to wear the padded headband protecting his forehead after suffering a nasty gash in a training ground collision with team-mate Phil Jones last month.