Jose Mourinho provides injury update on Manchester United star Henrikh Mkhitaryan

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has confirmed Henrikh Mkhitaryan's injury is not serious and the attacker does not require a surgery after he was stretchered off the field in his side's 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur on 11 December.

The Armenian international scored the only goal of the match against the north London club in the first half as the Red Devils won their first league match at Old Trafford since September. However, a tackle from Spurs defender Danny Rose forced him to be withdrawn in the 81<sup>st minute.

Mourinho revealed Mkhitaryan will miss the trip to Crystal Palace on 14 December and remains hopeful the former Borussia Dortmund star will be back in the starting lineup for United's Boxing Day fixture against Sunderland. This means he is likely to miss the clash against West Bromwich Albion on 17 December.

"It looks like the next match [at Crystal Palace] is a 'no', but it looks like it is nothing that is really dangerous or that needs surgery. So hopefully we will probably have Micki [Mkhitaryan] on Boxing Day [against Sunderland at Old Trafford]," Mourinho told United's official website.

Mkhitaryan scored twice in the space of less than a week against Zorya and Tottenham. His strike in the Europa League against the Ukranian outfit was his first goal for the 20-time English champions.

The 27-year-old initially struggled to break into the squad following his disappointing display in the derby defeat to Manchester City in September. However, Mkhitaryan has impressed in recent times, having directly contributed to 50% of United's last eight goals in all competitions.

Valencia suspended for Palace trip

Meanwhile, Antonio Valencia will miss United's next league tie against the Eagles after the Ecuadorian international picked his fifth yellow card of the season in the 1-0 win over Tottenham. He was booked for a late tackle on Danny Rose in the 32<sup>nd minute of the match on Sunday.

He becomes the fifth player to serve a one-match ban after picking up a fifth yellow card. The other four players are Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Marouane Fellaini, Paul Pogba and Wayne Rooney.