Manchester: Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has revealed Zlatan Ibrahimovic will be out of action for a month, but he hopes to have Romelu Lukaku back soon following his head injury.
Ibrahimovic went off at half-time in United’s Boxing Day draw against Burnley, but Mourinho did not divulge the nature of the injury that will keep the former Paris Saint-Germain star sidelined throughout January.
“Zlatan one month out,” Mourinho told BT Sport following Saturday’s 0-0 draw against Southampton.
Ibrahimovic had only recently got back into the United team after missing the first half of the season while he recovered from a serious knee injury suffered in April.
With Ibrahimovic out for a prolonged period, Mourinho could have done without Belgian forward Lukaku being stretchered off in the first half against Southampton after a clash of heads with Wesley Hoedt.
He lay prone on the pitch barely moving while he was treated by medical staff for five minutes.
Lukaku remained conscious and was eventually carried off wearing an oxygen mask.
But Mourinho claimed Lukaku wasn’t seriously hurt.
“That’s football,” Jose Mourinho told MUTV. “He was just unlucky. I think the Dutch central defender goes with him for the ball and it’s unlucky for Romelu and unlucky for Hoedt.
“It was nothing aggressive and, hopefully, nothing important. But the first consequence is he didn’t play for the rest of the game.”
United’s match is away to Lukaku’s former club Everton on Monday, New Year’s Day.
Mourinho’s men will go into that match on a run of three successive league draws.
The United boss felt his team should have been given a penalty for handball against Southampton and he took a swipe at referee Craig Pawson.
“I think it is also a frustrating afternoon for Craig because he’s a fantastic referee, one of the most promising referees in Europe. I feel bad for him,” Mourinho said.
“We missed easy chances but there was a clear penalty that wasn’t given.”
Paul Pogba earlier had a late effort ruled out for offside and a third successive league draw over the holiday period has effectively ended United’s hopes of competing with City for the title in the new year.
As United struggled to adjust to Lukaku’s departure, Southampton looked far more threatening.
Sofiane Boufal pulled the ball back from the by-line and James Ward-Prowse’s firm shot was well saved, at full stretch, by David de Gea. Hoedt then mis-timed his header from a Ward-Prowse corner, glancing across goal from six yards out when it looked easier to head on target.
Southampton had dropped out-of-form goalkeeper Fraser Forster, handing Alex McCarthy his debut for the club, and he proved solid cover as United ended the half in slightly stronger form.
A Mata strike was well saved by McCarthy’s leg before Rashford almost made contact with an excellent Ashley Young cross and Southampton skipper Maya Yoshida escaped a strong penalty appeal after he appeared to handle in blocking Jesse Lingard.
The situation might have become even more dire for United early in the second half when the excellent Ward-Prowse crossed from the right and Shane Long darted into the area ahead of Nemanja Matic, only to be denied by a magnificent De Gea save via his right boot.
There were audible groans from the Old Trafford crowd after a mis-hit cross by Henrikh Mkhitaryan sailed over the Southampton goal just after the hour.
However, those groans turned to cheers a few moments later with the sight of Anthony Martial warming up, and he replaced the Armenian just after the hour mark.
Martial injected some much-needed pace, and confidence, into the United attack but De Gea’s goal was the one still under the greater threat, a point underlined when Dusan Tadic headed over a Boufal cross from a promising position after 71 minutes.
However, United could have won it in the 81st minute. The ball seemed to be going in after a scramble in the box following Ashley Young’s free-kick, but an offside Paul Pogba touched it in anyway and the offside flag came up, summing up the hosts’ frustration.
