Huddersfield record signing Steve Mounie set to make injury return against Manchester United

Huddersfield Town will be boosted by the return of top scorer and club-record signing Steve Mounie for Saturday's (21 October) eagerly anticipated Premier League visit of Manchester United, although Philip Billing looks set to be sidelined for a couple of months with a "serious" ankle injury.

Mounie, an £11.5m ($15.1m) summer arrival from Ligue 1 outfit Montpellier, memorably notched a brace on his competitive debut against Crystal Palace on the opening day of the season but managed just three more appearances before sustaining an inflamed heel during the 2-0 defeat at West Ham United.

The 23-year-old has since been sidelined for more than a month, during which time goal-shy Huddersfield, in the midst of a six-game winless run, have managed just one solitary strike during meetings with Leicester City, Palace, Burnley, Tottenham Hotspur and Swansea City.

They have now failed to score in four successive matches across all competitions for the first time since 2004 as the initial optimism surrounding their maiden top-flight season for 45 years slowly begins to wane.

Mounie only ever had an outside of chance of being fit for that 2-0 defeat to Swansea in South Wales, although will be involved this weekend as Jose Mourinho's title contenders look to maintain their unbeaten start and keep pace with free-scoring rivals Manchester City at the top of the table.

"Steve Mounie will be back in the squad; he trained all week without any issues," manager David Wagner told reporters during his pre-match press conference on Friday.

The outlook is not nearly as positive for Billing, who was stretchered off after 60 minutes against Swansea after being hit by a pass from Rajiv van La Parra. Wagner confirmed after the match that a twist to the Danish midfielder's ankle "looked serious" and that Huddersfield would know more after a scan that was scheduled for earlier this week.

Providing an update on Billing before that clash with United, Wagner said: "Philip Billing has a serious injury; we aren't 100% sure if he needs surgery or not. The final investigations will be on Monday."

The 12th-place Terriers remain without Chelsea loanee Kasey Palmer (hamstring) and centre-back Michael Hefele (achilles), while it is unclear exactly when long-term absentee Jon Gorenc Stankovic might able to return from anterior cruciate ligament damage suffered while on international duty with the Slovenian Under-21 team back in March.

Forward Collin Quaner has similarly been ruled out of the clash with United, although is expected to be back for the subsequent trip to Liverpool seven days later after recently returning to training following a calf problem picked up during the 1-1 draw with Leicester last month.

"Colin Quaner won't be available this weekend but he should be back for Liverpool away," Wagner revealed.

The tremendous job performed by former Jurgen Klopp protege Wagner during his two-year stint in West Yorkshire has seen him this week mentioned alongside the likes of Carlo Ancelotti, Sam Allardyce and Sean Dyche among the potential front-runners to succeed Craig Shakespeare as Leicester boss.

However, the German now appears to have ruled himself out of contention for the vacant post at the King Power Stadium. "It is not a distraction and it doesn't bother me," he said. "I am and I will be the manager of Huddersfield Town."