Manchester, England

Striker Wayne Rooney will be sidelined four weeks after suffering a nasty leg injury in Manchester United's 3-2 Premier League victory over Fulham.

With Fulham pressing for an equalizer in the game's dying stages, Rooney bravely threw himself in the way of a Hugo Rodallega shot.

The former Wigan forward's boot came down on Rooney's right thigh as he followed through, inflicting a nasty wound on Rooney's leg.

"It was a very bad one. He has gone to hospital. It looks like he will be out for four weeks," United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said.

Rooney initially jumped to his feet but was soon holding his leg at the knee and pointing to the cut. Referee Kevin Friend stopped the game immediately and, after lengthy treatment, Rooney left the pitch on a stretcher.

"You have to be wary of infection and that kind of thing so he has gone to the best place and hopefully he will be okay," Ferguson said. "Rodallega followed through and caught him -- but it was an accident of course."

The injury could keep Rooney out of England's World cup qualifying doubleheader with Moldova and Ukraine next month.

In addition, the 26-year-old would miss the start of United's Champions League campaign, and also make him a major doubt for the Red Devils' crucial trip to Liverpool Sept. 23.

The injury capped Rooney's bad day as he was earlier dropped by Ferguson from the starting line-up and handed Robin Van Persie his first start. The move worked wonders for Ferguson as Van Persie scored his first home goal in the 10th minute.