Henrikh Mkhitaryan a doubt for Manchester derby

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Manchester United midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan is a doubt for the Manchester derby after injuring his thigh on international duty.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan is a doubt for the Manchester derby after suffering a thigh injury whilst on international duty that could take up to a fortnight to heal.

Mkhitaryan picked up the injury whilst playing in Armenia’s friendly game against the Czech Republic on Wednesday – being forced to leave the field after an off-the-ball collision with defender Marek Suchy.

Initials reports seemed to indicate that the versatile attacker had damaged his knee in the collision, but tests on the 27-year-old have since confirmed that the problem actually lies with his thigh.

After the test results were confirmed in the media, the Armenian FA released a short statement confirming both the location and extent of the midfielder’s injury.

“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.”

After being withdrawn from Armenia’s squad to face Denmark on Sunday, Mkhitaryan is now set to return to Manchester – where the player will be given a full medical assessment by United’s own team at their Carrington training ground.

Despite only having featured as a substitute in United’s first three Premier League matches thus far, Mkhitaryan was reportedly set to start his first match for the club against Manchester City next week.

Having already impressed in his initial three cameo appearances, the Armenian attacker has made a promising start to his United career.

Mkhitaryan was one of the stand-out performers in last year’s Bundesliga campaign, scoring an impressive 11 league goals as well as assisting a further 15 in 31 league appearances.