Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been ruled out for a month after not featuring for Manchester United in their goalless draw with Southampton on Saturday.
Ibrahimovic was not included in Jose Mourinho s squad for the Premier League clash, although it now appears the former Sweden international is set for a lengthy injury lay-off.
United lost Romelu Lukaku to a head injury eight minutes into the match and Mourinho was quizzed afterwards as to whether Ibrahimovic was a viable replacement should the Belgian face his own spell on the sidelines.
But Mourinho, who said there was no update on Lukaku s condition in the immediate aftermath, revealed Ibrahimovic would be missing for a month, restricting his options at the forefront of his attack to just Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial.
The boss has revealed that will be out of action for for one month.
— Manchester United (@ManUtd)
United could enter 2018 some 17 points adrift of runaway leaders Manchester City if their fierce rivals can extend their record-breaking winning run to 19 matches against Crystal Palace on Sunday.
Mourinho s men face Everton on New Year s Day before taking on Derby County in the FA Cup on Friday.