The Bulgarian suffered the problem during United’s defeat at Fulham.
“I think he gets back from Mars about 4pm,” joked Ferguson.
“With Dimitar out and Wayne suspended hopefully Carlos will be okay. That will give us one striker, then we will have to choose another.
“With the extra day’s rest I am relatively confident we can get a fit team out on the pitch.”
Wayne Rooney, Nemanja Vidic and Paul Scholes will also miss Sunday’s crucial match against Aston Villa.
