[UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE] Ecuadoran winger Antonio Valencia will likely miss the rest of the season after suffering a broken leg and a dislocated ankle in Manchester United's 0-0 tie Tuesday against Rangers in their Champions League.

"He's gone straight to hospital and he will be operated on in the morning," said Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson after the game. "It's a dislocation and a fracture and he's going to be out for a long time. It's a really bad blow for the boy. It's similar to the injury Alan Smith got."

Smith suffered similar injuries in 2006 and was sidelined for seven months but never really recovered.

"You're talking about [Valencia missing] the rest of the season," Ferguson added. "It was a really innocuous challenge and you wouldn't have expected anything but as soon as we saw their player waving, we knew it was a bad one."

The injury came in the second half when Valencia caught his toe in the turf as Rangers defender Kirk Broadfoot challenged him.