Cristiano Ronaldo is expected to be absent from the Manchester United squad that arrives at the Etihad Stadium later today.
According to the Athletic, the 37-year-old has been ruled out of the Manchester derby clash through an unspecified injury.
The same report also states that fellow veteran striker Edinson Cavani is also not part of the match-day squad for the game against Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.
That leaves interim manager Ralf Rangnick with only Marcus Rashford as a recognised centre-forward.
It could well mean that the German adopts a similar approach to Guardiola and potentially deploys Bruno Fernandes in the false number nine role.
Ronaldo is the Reds’ top scorer this season with 15 goals in 30 appearances in all competitions.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner only has one goal in 10 outings in 2022 which came against Brighton.
The only other Premier League game that United’s number seven hasn’t featured in during the campaign was the 2-2 draw against Aston Villa in January, when he was ruled out with a hip problem.
By the time United kick-off against the Citizens, we could have dropped out of the top four if Arsenal beat Watford in the 2pm game.
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