Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has revealed that Zlatan Ibrahimovic will miss a month of action due to injury.
Ibrahimovic has only recently returned to fitness following a lengthy spell on the sidelines with a serious knee ligament injury, but he was omitted from the matchday squad for this evening's 0-0 draw with Southampton.
United's attacking options were further hit when Romelu Lukaku was stretchered off early at Old Trafford, with Mourinho bringing Marcus Rashford on in place of the stricken Belgian.
Lukaku is expected to be sidelined for the New Year's Day meeting with former club Everton as a result, and Mourinho confirmed after the Southampton draw that Ibrahimovic would not be available to replace him.
The exact nature of Ibrahimovic's injury has not yet been revealed, but the Swede could miss matches against Everton, Derby County, Stoke City, Burnley and Tottenham Hotspur.
United's draw against the Saints was their third in a row, leaving them now third in the table having slipped below Chelsea.
Barney Corkhill
