With the hectic festive schedule just around the corner, suffering injuries to key players is a club's worst nightmare.

Manchester United have encountered such a problem and it affects their defence as Eric Bailly is expected to be sidelined for two to three months.

Manager Jose Mourinho confirmed in a press conference on Friday that the centre-back will undergo surgery to resolve an ankle problem.

Bailly initially suffered the problem on international duty and has not played for the Red Devils since their 1-0 defeat to Chelsea on November 5.

In the six league games since the defender's last outing for United, the team have won five and lost once in the league.

Even though the results have been positive, some of the performances have come under scrutiny.

Victor Lindelof has had a more positive impact since being handed opportunities by the manager, but the team have only kept two clean sheets in the top flight since Bailly's injury.

After Mourinho announced the disappointing blow, fans took to Twitter.

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