Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney is likely to be out of action for two months after breaking his left foot against Reading on Sunday.

Rooney will miss England's two Euro 2008 qualifiers in September but United manager Alex Ferguson said the striker could be fit in time for the tie with Estonia on October 13.

"It will be two months out," Ferguson told reporters yesterday.

"To be on the safe side, we would say it is going to be two months, but hopefully he can come back quicker.

"It's a bad blow for England and I'm disappointed for (England coach) Steve McClaren. I spoke to him last night and I could sense the disappointment. It's a bad blow for him.

"They have options for the games against Israel and Russia in September. They should cope without him. I would expect him to be back for October."

Rooney is definitely out of England's friendly against Germany on August 22 and the home matches against Israel on September 8 and against Russia four days later.

McClaren already is without the banned Peter Crouch and Michael Owen is doubtful with a thigh injury.

Rooney also broke a bone in his right foot during Euro 2004 and another bone in the right foot just before the 2006 World Cup.

England also have problems in central defence following injuries to captain John Terry of Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur's Ledley King and Middlesbrough's Jonathan Woodgate.

King and Woodgate are recovering from knee operations while Terry is doubtful because of knee ligament damage.

Manchester United right-back Gary Neville and Chelsea left-back Wayne Bridge are also out with ankle and hip problems respectively.

In addition, McClaren knows former captain David Beckham has yet to play a full game for his new club Los Angeles Galaxy.

"There is no doubt the manager has a lot of injuries to weigh up and there are more (league) games to play this week," an FA spokesman told Reuters.

McClaren's team are fourth in Group E with 14 points from seven games, behind Croatia (17), Israel (17) and Russia (15).