Robin van Persie WILL miss Manchester Derby and both Bayern games

Robin van Persie will miss four to six weeks of action with a sprained knee, Manchester United have confirmed.

Wonderfully, that means not only will we be taking on City without him, but also both legs of the Bayern Munich game. Which makes both of those a lot harder.

Of course, Van Persie had been criticised for some rather feeble performances, and there was a not-unreasonable suggestion that we would be better off starting Danny Welbeck - who has had a good season - in his stead. He brings pace and some phenomenally aggressive pressing to the table as well as being decent in front of goal when played as a striker.

Of course, there are problems. Number one: Bayern Munich are a better team than United and Robin van Persie is by far the likeliest player to put in a superhuman performance to drag us through. And number two: United won't have Mata, so Welbeck might've been playing anyway, or at least someone with pace.

So, how do we do this? Marouane Fellaini as a second striker, or do we need him in midfield? Shinji Kagawa, who appears to be completely out of form and faith? Nani? Or just one of Valencia and Young as usual?