Republic of Ireland international John O'Shea will miss the rest of the season with a leg injury, according to his club manager Alex Ferguson.

The Manchester United boss, speaking at Trinity College on Wednesday night, has explained that the knock which required the defender to be substituted in Ireland's last game against France has worsened to the extend that he is likely to out until the summer.

Ferguson said of his reliable defender: ""He's got a terrible injury at the moment. It's one of those sorts of injuries that are unusual. It's like a dead leg except a dead leg is usually only three or four days.

"The problem is that the blood clot became all knotted and when it gets knotted you get calcification so therefore it's a long process to clear that up and he'll probably miss the season now. It's a bad blow for the boy and for the team because he can play anywhere.

"When you look at all the problems I've had with the back four this season, he could have played every single one."

As well as missing the season run-in for his club, O'Shea will also be unavailable for Ireland's upcoming friendly against Brazil on Tuesday, March 2 at the Emirates Stadium in London.