Manchester United suffer new major injury blow for derby vs Man City

Manchester United have been hit with a major injury blow ahead of the derby vs Manchester City. The club say Rasmus Hojlund has suffered a muscle injury that will keep him our of action vs Fulham tomorrow, and is expected to see him on the sidelines for two or three weeks.

That means the Dane seems certain to miss the Manchester derby at the Etihad Stadium next weekend. It is a further blow to Erik ten Hag who has had to contend with injuries throughout the season so far - it was announced earlier in the week that Luke Shaw will also be out for an extended period and will also be unavailable.

The loss of the in-form Hojlund will be particularly keenly felt by United - he has scored in six games in a row in the Premier League. But his absence highlights the lack of attacking options at the club going into the derby, with Anthony Martial out long-term, it leaves them without an out-and-out striker, meaning that Marcus Rashford seems likely to be called upon to lead the line at the Etihad.

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The club said on Friday: "Rasmus Hojlund will miss Manchester United's Premier League game against Fulham on Saturday due to a muscle injury. It is expected to keep him out for two to three weeks."

City have their own injury worries, with Kevin De Bruyne having to halt his return from long-term injury, and Jack Grealish and Josko Gvardiol missing matches recently. Pep Guardiola will issue an update on all three in his press conference today, ahead of tomorrow's trip to Bournemouth.