Edinson Cavani suffers fresh injury blow - giving Man Utd a selection challenge for Leicester City game

Edinson Cavani is a doubt for Manchester United’s Premier League clash with Leicester City this weekend, after the striker was forced off due to injury in Uruguay’s 2-0 win over Chile.

The forward started his country’s final World Cup qualifier, but went down holding his leg during the game and was withdrawn after just 29 minutes, with ex-Liverpool forward Luis Suarez replacing him.

As per reports in his homeland, Tenfield claim the United man suffered ‘muscular ailment in the right calf’ and therefore is a doubt for the Red Devils’ return to Premier League action on Saturday.

Uruguay won the game in the early hours of Wednesday morning, thanks to goals from Suarez and Federico Valverde and finished the South American qualifiers in third, meaning they will play at the Qatar World Cup later this year.

United’s options vs Leicester

The Red Devils started the 2021/22 campaign with a plethora of attacking options, with Cavani, Cristiano Ronaldo, Anthony Martial and Mason Greenwood all capable of playing through the middle.

But for one reason or another, only Ronaldo looks set to be available for Saturday’s meeting with Leicester. However, there have been concerns about the 37-year-old’s ability to play multiple games in a week, and Ronaldo featured in both of his country’s matches over the recent international break.

Portugal progressed to the World Cup thanks to wins over Turkey and then North Macedonia in their four-team play-off, with Bruno Fernandes netting a brace in the latter game.

The United No.18 knows first-hand about the burdens of the club’s lack of options up front, and it was Fernandes and Paul Pogba who played as false nines during the 4-1 loss to Manchester City earlier this month, a game Ronaldo and Cavani were both unavailable for.

Cavani’s woeful injury record

Cavani has struggled for consistency this season. In fact, he’s played just 17 times for the Red Devils in 2021/22 and has only completed a 90-minute game on three occasions.

Injuries have been an issue which has dogged his United career and, as per Transfermarkt, this is the seventh he’s picked up since joining the club in October 2020.

In total, injuries alone have ruled him out for 31 games over his spell at United, which goes some way in explaining why a new contract offer seems unlikely for Cavani when his current deal expires in the summer.