Manchester United news: Henrikh Mkhitaryan expected to be ruled out of Manchester derby with thigh injury

Mkhitaryan sustained an injury to his left thigh after being involved in an off-ball collision with Marek Suchy during the first half of Armenia’s friendly against Czech Republic

Henrikh Mkhitaryan (Getty)

Henrikh Mkhitaryan is expected to be a doubt for the Manchester derby after the Armenian FA confirmed that the midfielder has suffered a thigh injury which could take up to 10 days to heal.

Mkhitaryan was involved in an off-ball collision with Marek Suchy during the first half of Armenia’s friendly with the Czech Republic on Wednesday and was subsequently taken off.

With one week to go until one of the biggest games of the season, the 27-year-old now faces a race against time to recover from the injury.

The Armenian has been ruled out of his country’s game against Denmark on Sunday and he will now return to Carrington to be assessed by Manchester United's medical staff.

"As reported, senior national team captain Henrikh Mkhitaryan received an injury against Czech Republic and as a result was unable to continue the match," the Armenian FA said.

"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."

The player, who was the 2015/16 Bundesliga Player of the Year, joined United on a four-year deal early in the transfer window.

He has yet to score for the club, but manager Jose Mourinho has said that he will have an impact soon as “he has a style of play suited to the Premier League.”

Manchester City have a missing player of their own after Sergio Aguero was banned for three matches for elbowing West Ham’s Winston Reid during last weekend’s Premier League clash between the two sides.

Captain Vincent Kompany is also in the process of recovering from his own thigh injury which has kept him out of the game for the last four months but he is not expected to make an appearance in the derby.