Michael Carrick has told club media that he doesn't expect Manchester United defender Lisandro Martinez to be out of action for too long.
The centre-back had been part of an unchanged back four across Carrick's first five matches since taking charge as head coach, but was forced to miss Monday's 1-0 win at Everton with a problem he picked up in the days before the game.
It hasn't been clarified whether Martinez will be available for Sunday's Premier League fixture at home to Crystal Palace, but the boss hopes it will only be “a matter of days”
before he can call on the World Cup winner again.
Michael also told MUTV's Mark Sullivan that Patrick Chinazaekpere Dorgu is progressing well in his recovery from a longer-term injury that has kept him out since he scored a terrific goal in January's win at Arsenal.
“Patrick is a little bit further down the line really, in terms of a number of weeks but he’s progressing well,”Carrick said in his pre-Palace interview with MUTV, which you can watch in full from 08:00 GMT on Saturday morning.
“Licha is a lot closer than Patrick is. It will be a matter of days hopefully, it won’t be too long. We’ll assess him over the next day or two, and see where he is.
“Mason [Mount] is getting closer, Matthijs [de Ligt] is a little bit behind Mason but, if we can get the boys back, we’ll get them back as soon as we can.”
Mason Mount and Matthijs de Ligt also missed our last outing at Hill Dickinson Stadium, as they continue their recoveries from respective injuries.
Leny Yoro ably stepped in for Martinez on Merseyside, partnering Harry Maguire at centre-back, and could be an option again if Sunday's game comes too soon for the Argentina international.
United's next match follows swiftly after the weekend's Old Trafford encounter, with a trip to Newcastle United three days later, on Wednesday (20:15 GMT kick-off).