Man Utd suffer Van der Sar blow

Van der Sar suffered the injury in the Audi Cup tournament in Germany

Manchester United keeper Edwin van der Sar will miss the start of the season after undergoing surgery on a broken finger and bone in his left hand.

The Dutchman, 38, is expected to be sidelined for up to eight weeks.

Van der Sar was hurt saving a penalty in the pre-season 7-6 penalty shoot-out defeat by Bayern Munich last week.

Ben Foster and Tomasz Kuszczak will bid to start Sunday’s Community Shield game with Chelsea and the Premier League opener against Birmingham on 16 August.

Van der Sar’s misfortune could pave the way for Foster to stake his claim for a regular starting spot for United and England, who are on the verge of rubber-stamping qualification for the 2010 World Cup finals.

606: DEBATE Anyone else think that this could be a blessing in disguise and will finally give us a chance to get a good look at Foster? Gary_Nevilles_Moustache

Foster, 26, signed a new contract in July and United boss Sir Alex Ferguson said at the time: “He is seen as one of the best young goalkeepers in England and we genuinely see him as a successor to Edwin.”

Foster only played nine games for United last season, the majority of which were in cup competitions.

However, he was given the second of his England caps by coach Fabio Capello in the 4-0 friendly win over Slovakia in March, two years after making his debut in a 1-0 defeat by Spain.