It's sounding more and more like a late fitness test will be required to determine whether Henrikh Mkhitaryan will be fit for the Manchester derby.
While he has yet to start a Premier League game under Jose Mourinho, the summer signing from Borussia Dortmund has impressed as a substitute and may well have been in contention to start in Manchester United's next game, a clash with arch-rivals Manchester City.
But that contention was dealt a serious blow when Mkhitaryan limped out of Armenia's friendly defeat to the Czech Republic on Wednesday night.
Mkhitaryan was ruled out of his national team's World Cup qualifier against Denmark on Sunday, with a medical examination confirming that he will cutting it tight if he is to be fit in time for the derby which is scheduled for September 10.
The 27-year-old is set to return to his club for treatment over the next week but in a message from the Armenian FA to United, the expected return date means he is in a race against time to get his first taste of United vs. City.
The Armenia statement reads:
'As reported, senior national team captain Henrikh Mkhitaryan received an injury against Czech Republic and as a result was unable to continue the match.
'Mkhitaryan has had a medical examination in a clinic in Mlada Boleslav. Unfortunately, the results are not encouraging.
'Mkhitaryan was found to have an injury in the lower third of the left thigh muscle. Such injuries usually require a week to 10 days to heal, which means that Mkhitaryan will miss the Denmark-Armenia match on September 4.'
