Manchester United star suffers injury blow, out until the New Year

Initially, the centre-back was pencilled for a return during the Brighton & Hove Albion game, but The Sun now reports that the 23-year-old has suffered an injury setback which could potentially see him miss a minimum of six weeks.

The combination of Phil Jones and Eric Bailly reaped rewards during the early stage of the campaign, where United kept six clean sheets in the first seven matches. However, since then, one or the other has been sidelined with injury, but Jones recent return from a thigh strain has provided a timely boost.

Victor Lindelof has of late, cemented a regular role at the heart of the backline, and his recent improvement leaves Mourinho with plenty of options to rotate with the likes of Chris Smalling, Marcos Rojo and Daley Blind having also featured in the central defensive department.

United have attained just one shut-out since mid-November, and this is something Mourinho could be looking to improve on during the festive period where they have a couple of tricky games versus Leicester City and Burnley – both of whom have picked up form in the first-half of the campaign.