Ashley Cole's 'shocking' tackle on Javier Hernandez

England full-back Cole was booked by referee Phil Dowd for the 77th-minute challenge on the Mexican, which resulted in Hernandez being replaced by Dimitar Berbatov.

And United manager Ferguson admitted that Hernandez could be sidelined for at least two weeks as a result of Cole going “over the edge”.

Ferguson added: “He’s very reckless at times, Ashley Cole. He is committed of course, but he sometimes can go over the edge a bit and that was an example of that.

“It was a shocking challenge. The referee has booked him for it so I don’t know why it wasn’t a penalty. I must ask him.

“We will have to see what the damage is during the week, but his [Hernandez’s] leg is very numb. He could be out for a couple of weeks.”