Ankle injury rules out United's Young for two weeks

London: Manchester United winger Ashley Young faces two weeks on the sidelines with an ankle injury, manager Alex Ferguson said on Friday.

Young limped off in Monday's 2-1 defeat by Manchester City, where the second-placed champions narrowed the gap on leaders United to 12 points although they have already conceded the title race is over with seven games to go.

"He got a sore whack on his ankle, maybe two weeks with him," Ferguson, whose side have 77 points from 31 games, told a news conference.

United's defensive injuries are beginning to show some sign of clearing up with centre back Nemanja Vidic expected to return to training on Friday, while Jonny Evans has trained and Chris Smalling started running, both this week.

Midfielder Paul Scholes should return to first-team training on Monday, Ferguson said. United travel to 15th-placed Stoke City on Sunday aiming to re-establish a 15-point lead at the top of the table while Manchester City play an FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea at Wembley.