Van Persie ruled out for up to six weeks as Manchester United lose striker for Champions League clashes with Bayern
- Van Persie was carried off after scoring a hat-trick against Olympiacos
- Further investigation revealed he has sprained his knee
- The United striker was only expected to miss one game
- He will now miss the Champions League games against Bayern Munich
- The Dutchman could sit out as many as six Premier League matches
- David Moyes could be without Van Persie for Everton and Newcastle away
Manchester United striker Robin van Persie is out for up to six weeks after it was revealed the injury he suffered against Olympiacos is more serious than first feared.
Van Persie was carried off on a stretcher at Old Trafford after scoring a hat-trick as United beat
Olympiacos 3-0 and booked their place in the last eight of the Champions League.
Unhappy ending: Robin van Persie was carried off on a stretcher after scoring three against Olympiacos
Concern: Wayne Rooney looked worried about his strike partner when he went down on Wednesday
Blow: The injury has ruled Van Persie out of playing in crucial games for Manchester United
Games RVP could miss
Mar 23: West Ham (A)
Mar 25: Man City (H)
Mar 29: Aston Villa (H)
Apr 1: Bayern Munich (H)
Apr 5: Newcastle (A)
Apr 9: Bayern Munich (A)
Apr 20: Everton (A)
Apr 26: Norwich (H)
Mar 25: Man City (H)
Mar 29: Aston Villa (H)
Apr 1: Bayern Munich (H)
Apr 5: Newcastle (A)
Apr 9: Bayern Munich (A)
Apr 20: Everton (A)
Apr 26: Norwich (H)
United manager David Moyes played down the injury after the match and it was thought Van Persie would only miss one game - Saturday's trip to West Ham - before returning for the Manchester derby on Tuesday night.
But the club tweeted: 'Following further investigation, Robin van Persie has a sprained knee which will keep him out for around four to six weeks.'
Moyes had earlier on Friday suggested that there could be bad news regarding the former Arsenal man.
'We're getting Robin re-scanned again today,' the Scot had said. 'We're just not quite conclusive on everything we've seen yet. We want to just check that out and be sure. He won't be available for (Saturday's) game (against West Ham). But we'll try to give you some update when we can on the outcome of it.
'We've got a lot of games coming up and we need all our players fit and available.'
As well as the West Ham and Bayern Munich games, Van Persie, who has scored 17 goals this season, will sit out the derby against Manchester City on Tuesday.