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.
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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."
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