Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher injured his knee during Scotland’s friendly with Croatia on Wednesday and his manager Sir Alex Ferguson has called the friendly matches ‘futile’ and ‘pointless’.

Fletcher managed to play the full 90 minutes for Scotland in the 1-1 draw on Wednesday but will now be out for up to six weeks with knee ligament damage.

Sir Alex Ferguson said that the friendly matches are futile and is upset that he is now missing vital cover in the midfield leading up to the title run in. Ferguson added that Fletcher should have being given a 45 minute run out but should not have played 90 minutes.

Fletcher missed the 3-0 win over Liverpool last Sunday due to a chest infection but was fit enough to join up with the Scotland team and play for them.

Ferguson has reiterated comments made by other managers about friendly matches by saying they are pointless and a waste of time. He said that people are going to stop attending friendly matches soon as they are a waste of time and more like a training match than a competitive football match.