Giggs and Stam to miss FA showpiece final

Ryan Giggs has been ruled out of the FA Cup final today and may miss the Champions league decider against Bayern Munich next Wednesday.

United confirmed today that they will fly to that game on Concorde but the Welsh winger is struggling with an ankle injury that is likely to need surgery in the summer. He is already preparing to withdraw from two Euro 2000 qualifiers for Wales next month.

Giggs' goal in an extra time win over Arsenal took United through to the final against Newcastle at Wembley tomorrow and is likely to be voted the goal of the season by television viewers in Britain over the weekend. Swede Jesper Blomqvist takes over in the wide left position.

Dutch centre back Jaap Stam has also failed to recover from an ankle injury and is another doubt for the Bayern Munich clash. He has struggled with his fits for the past month and missed the Premiership title campaign conclusion last weekend. His place in the Wembley starting line up has been taken by David May.