Tom Heaton will miss the start of the season (Photo: Getty)
Manchester United have announced that Tom Heaton will miss the first few weeks of the new season with injury.
The Reds Devils kick-off their Premier League campaign on Monday night against Wolves.
It is reported that the veteran goalkeeper has suffered a calf injury but on the surface of things his absence doesn’t look so bad given that Heaton is only at Old Trafford as back-up to new signing Andre Onana.
However, with the 37-year-old unavailable, Erik ten Hag now only has one senior keeper at the club as the season starts, as Dean Henderson is currently recovering from a thigh injury and not expected to be back before September.
The injury to Heaton is also likely to scupper Henderson’s chances of leaving United this transfer window, with the one-time England international keen to secure first-team football elsewhere.
And there aren’t many youngsters who can be called upon either, as Nathan Bishop was sold to Sunderland last week, Matej Kovar is on his way to Bayer Leverkusen, and Radek Vitek is out with a knee injury.
Dean Henderson had been planning to leave Man Utd this summer (Photo: Getty)
All this will force Ten Hag and co. to speed up their pursuit of a new No.2 goalie which was already in progress given Henderson’s stance and David de Gea’s departure.
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All this comes as United look to sign another midfielder and centre-back with Fred and Harry Maguire looking set to leave for Fenerbahce and West Ham respectively.
Heaton joins an ever growing list of injured players at Old Trafford that currently includes Anthony Martial, Rasmus Hojlund and Amad Diallo.
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The injury will have a knock-on effect on United’s transfer plans.