It means the former England star will miss a minimum of 13 Premier League games, starting with Saturday’s visit to Arsenal and including the crucial trip to Liverpool on December 16, plus the start of United’s FA Cup campaign.

While it is undoubtedly bad news for Scholes and United, given the Salford-born player’s importance to the Red Devils cause down the years, it does at least offer Carrick a route back into Alex Ferguson’s first-choice line-up.

The former Tottenham man is expecting to receive the all-clear to resume training this week after dislocating his elbow in this month’s Champions League triumph over Roma and could be in contention to face Arsenal when the Premier League’s top-two go head-to-head at the Emirates Stadium this weekend.

Carrick will no doubt be thirsting for an opportunity to shine too as most pundits expected he would be the victim of Owen Hargreaves’ return to fitness.

The midfielder has already suffered one uncomfortable experience this term on the rare occasions when Hargreaves has been available, being asked to get stripped, then told to sit down again by Ferguson as United laboured to a win over Sunderland at the beginning of December.

But, while Brazilian new-boy Anderson continues to impress in a central role and both Darren Fletcher and John O’Shea are more than capable of filling the vacancy, Carrick will almost certainly get the first opportunity to stand in for Scoles, linking up with Hargreaves in what many feel will turn into a long-term partnership.

Meanwhile, winger Nani has admitted he never expected to be given his opportunity so soon following the 20-year-old’s £17million arrival from Sporting Lisbon.

At the time, Ferguson stressed Nani was a player for the future, only for a massive injury list to force the Scot into a massive change of plan.

The winger was making his 14th appearance in 15 games this season when he opened the scoring with a sensational 30-yard effort against Middlesbrough on Saturday and he admitted his entrance has taken him by surprise.