Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim has revealed Portugal defender Diogo Dalot could miss the rest of the season after suffering a calf injury.
Dalot only appeared as a substitute in last Sunday's 1-0 loss against Wolves as Amorim tried to keep him fresh for the final games of the season.
But the versatile full-back has sustained a muscle problem that threatens to bring his campaign to an abrupt end.
"Diogo Dalot is out. He has something in his muscle, in his calf. He's out for these next games," Amorim told reporters ahead of Sunday's Premier League trip to Bournemouth.
Dalot has made 51 appearances for United this season in all competitions, missing just one match through suspension.
Asked if the 26-year-old could miss the rest of the season, Amorim added: "There is that possibility, but I don't know. We'll check week by week because he works really hard, he can recover quite well.
"He had a sequence of games that he played all the time. We tried to manage but some of the players have to play a lot of minutes."
Dalot's absence is a blow for United in with a crucial Europa League semifinal first leg trip to Athletic Bilbao looming on Thursday.
United limp into the weekend languishing in 14th place in the Premier League.
Amorim, who replaced the sacked Erik ten Hag in November, could preside over their worst league finish since they were relegated from the top-flight in 1973-74.
'THINGS CAN CHANGE'
United are already assured of their worst points total in the Premier League era, which started in 1992.
A major overhaul of United's underachieving squad is likely even if they win the Europa League.
Quizzed on whether he knows the players he would like to sell in the close-season, Amorim said: "Yeah, I could say that.
"Of course this is a conversation for the end of the week, but I have an idea that is clear because we have to do things early. But things can change until the end of the season."
Wolves forward Matheus Cunha is among United's targets but Amorim was unwilling to talk about the Brazil international.
"I will not say nothing about Matheus because if I say one time I will have to say for any situation whether that it's yes or no, so I will not comment about that," he said.
"We are focused on this season. Even the way we are going to prepare the next season could change in these games, so it's hard to predict what is going to happen in the future."
United need to lift the Europa League to secure European action next term, with Champions League qualification on offer to the tournament winner.
But Amorim insisted United remain an attractive club for top players regardless of their European status.
"It's Manchester United. What I feel is that there's a lot of players that want to play for our club," he said.
"I know that if you look at our club in the moment it looks like sometimes with all the problems with the staff, people going, changing coach, the results, it looks a little bit of a problem in the moment.
"But we have a clear idea and that is the easiest part to explain for a player. And then every player wants to play for Manchester United."