Cristiano Ronaldo is facing a race against time to be fit for Manchester United’s crucial Champions League Round of 16 second leg clash at home to Atletico Madrid.
The Portuguese striker missed United’s humiliating 4-1 reversal to rivals Manchester City last Sunday with a hip injury.
And latest reports suggest he won't feature in Saturday’s home league game with Spurs.
His return to Old Trafford during a turbulent period in the club’s history hasn’t gone as well as either party would have expected.
But the 37 year-old’s form in this year’s Champions League has been impressive, with six goals in six games.
Losing his talisman at the business end of the season is a further blow to interim manager Ralf Rangnick.
Ahead of the Manchester derby, Rangnick said: “I have to believe my medical department.
“My doctor came to see me on Friday morning before training and told me Cristiano Ronaldo cannot train because of some problems with his hip flexor and the same was true on Saturday and that’s why he couldn’t be part of the squad.”
Aggressive
Anthony Elanga’s priceless late goal earned United a 1-1 draw in the way leg in Madrid.
Rangnick was proud of how his team rallied after a poor first half.
Yet he knows his side will need to find a different level against Diego Simeone's men at Old Trafford.
“We have to be more aggressive and we have to play with more conviction on the ball,” he told BT Sport after the game.
“We need to do what we did in the last couple of weeks and also against a team like Atletico we need more deep runs.
“The way that we scored the goal was exactly that, a deep run from Anthony Elanga, a fantastic pass.
"We won the ball in the centre of the pitch, and this is how we have to play against them.”
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