Manchester United winger Nani will spend the rest of this month on the sidelines with a shin injury.
The Portuguese star sustained a nasty gash in a challenge by Jamie Carragher during United’s 3-1 defeat at Liverpool last weekend.
The injury forced him off and manager Sir Alex Ferguson has now revealed Nani will definitely miss this weekend’s FA Cup showdown with Arsenal, the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie with Marseille and the Premier League meeting with Bolton Wanderers.
Ferguson said: “We have managed to stitch the injury, which is good news. We need to guard against infection and swelling.
“It is difficult to say exactly when he will be ready to return but we won't get him back for the Bolton match next Saturday.”
He added: “We have quite a few injuries. I'm hoping some of them are all right to face Arsenal.
“Injuries aside, there's the importance of this as a cup tie. It's against Arsenal and these games are always exciting. There's an opportunity to get to a semi-final so I'll play my best team.
“Tuesday night (against Marseille) isn't in our minds at this moment.”