Jose Mourinho has confirmed that Romelu Lukaku's absence from United's trip to Turin is due to an injury, which may also keep him out of Sunday's Manchester derby.
After arriving in Italy, Mourinho took part in a pre-match press conference for Wednesday's Champions League match against Juventus, and the opening question was about Lukaku's condition.
The boss replied:
“[He is] injured. Injured for tomorrow and we don't know for Sunday.”
Lukaku did not travel to the south coast for last weekend's Premier League victory over Bournemouth, and Mourinho mentioned towards the end of his post-match conference that the striker was suffering from a muscle problem that needed monitoring.
“We have to wait for tomorrow, wait until Monday,”said the United manager at the time.
“He needs these couple of days. It was something in training. We don't know, muscle, tendon... we have to wait a little bit.”
Lukaku's most recent appearance was as a second-half substitute in the 2-1 win over Everton on 28 October, and the Belgian started 12 consecutive matches between August and October.
As for the rest of Mourinho's squad, there was better news for United earlier in the day, as both Antonio Valencia and Marouane Fellaini trained with the squad before the club's delegation left to catch their flight across the continent to the Piedmont region of Italy.
Preparing for Juventus! Gallery
See who has been pictured training before the squad's flight to Turin, Italy.
Club captain Valencia has been absent for over a month, while Fellaini last featured during the 3-2 win over Newcastle prior to the recent international break.
Diogo Dalot was the only other first-team player other than Lukaku to miss Tuesday's session at the Aon Training Complex, and the young Portuguese full-back was also absent from the travelling party that headed to Turin.
Reading this in our app? If not, you might miss some exclusive features not found on ManUtd.com. Download the Official App here.
Match preview: Get ready for Juve away article
The ultimate guide to Wednesday's UEFA Champions League Group H clash against the Italian giants.
Five times United have excelled in Italy article
As the Reds return to Turin, we recall our club's successful evenings on Italian soil.
What do Juventus fans think of United? article
In the latest issue of Inside United magazine, a couple of hardened Juve supporters explain their impression of us.
'Juventus are one of the world's biggest clubs' article
Matteo Darmian can draw from his own expert knowledge of Turin when assessing our midweek opponents.
