Manchester United star out of important derby clash against Manchester City after suffering injury during international duty - Reports

Manchester United defender Harry Maguire will reportedly miss out on their upcoming Premier League clash against Manchester City on Sunday, October 2, due to a muscle injury (via Daily Star).

The Englishman suffered the injury during the latter stages of England's 3-3 draw against Germany in the UEFA Nations League on September 26. While he still played for the entire 90 minutes, Maguire was seen limping out of the stadium after the match.

England captain Harry Kane also confirmed that the Manchester United captain has picked up an injury, saying:

"He had a pretty decent injury there at the end and he played another five or ten minutes on almost one leg, great character from him, really proud of him for that."

Maguire could be out for over two weeks, missing the Red Devils' trip to the Etihad to face city rivals Manchester City.

It was unlikely, however, that he would have started the match as Erik ten Hag prefers the pairing of Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane. The Englishman has started just three matches this season and Manchester United have unfortunately lost all three of them.

😵 Harry Maguire's last 10 starts for club and country:

🤝 Drew vs Germany
❌ Lost vs Italy
❌ Lost vs Real Sociedad
❌ Lost vs Brentford
❌ Lost vs Brighton
🤝 Drew vs Italy
🤝 Drew vs Germany
❌ Lost to Hungary
❌ Lost vs Crystal Palace
❌ Lost vs Liverpool https://t.co/HmVxMoGKNN

The injury would come as a big blow for Maguire, who has come under immense scrutiny for his performances for club and country. He was at fault for two goals against Germany.

He would have liked to get more playing time for United before heading into the upcoming FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

Manchester City defender picks up injury before clash against Manchester United

In England's clash against Germany, Manchester City also suffered a big blow in terms of injuries. John Stones started the match alongside Maguire but had to be subbed off in the 37th minute after suffering a hamstring injury.

It seems unlikely that he will feature in the Manchester derby, though a confirmation is yet to be made.

Stones has played seven matches for Manchester City so far this season and has also contributed one goal and two assists.

John Stones has a 96.79% pass accuracy this season 🎯🤯

He's misplaced just 13 passes out of 405 attempted 👏 https://t.co/AZLST6J3P9

While Pep Guardiola has the likes of Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake to fill in, the Englishman will be a big miss.

City are currently second in the Premier League table, one point behind leaders Arsenal. Manchester United, meanwhile, are fifth in the table, six points behind Arsenal but with a game in hand.