Neville, who suffered a groin injury during the Champions League qualifier with Debrecen in Hungary last month, broke down in training on Thursday and had an operation on Friday.

"The recovery time from the operation is a month and then it will taken another two or three weeks to get his fitness back," United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said.

"It is a blow but we think it is the best course of action."

Neville will be ruled out until the middle of November, forcing him to miss key Premiership fixtures including the crucial clash with league leaders Chelsea on 6 November.

It also means he will be sidelined for England's World Cup double-header with Austria and Poland next month.

Sven is set to name his squad for the two qualifiers against Austria and Poland on Sunday 2 October.