Michael Carrick looks certain to miss the match against Villarreal

Michael Carrick looks certain to miss the start of Manchester United's Champions League campaign against Villarreal tomorrow night - while Dimitar Berbatov also missed the start of training this morning.

Carrick had been a major doubt for the game, after he limped out of Saturday's Barclays Premier League defeat at Liverpool with an ankle injury, however Berbatov's absence from training was more of a surprise.

The Bulgarian striker took a knock at Anfield but did complete the full 90 minutes and was expected to be part of Ferguson's squad for their first Champions League game since beating Chelsea in a penalty shoot-out to lift the trophy in Moscow last May.

There has been no word on whether the 27-year-old has a chance of being fit, however, if Berbatov is missing, United should have Manucho, the Angolan forward, available after he recovered from a broken metatarsal