Man United are yet to confirm the extent of Ayden Heaven's injury after he was forced off in Sunday's victory at Leicester City.
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Ayden Heaven receives medical attention during the win at Leicester City.
Manchester United will be hoping Ayden Heaven's injury is not too serious.
(Image: Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images.)
Manchester United supporters are facing an anxious wait to discover just how long Ayden Heaven could be sidelined for.
The centre-back was forced off shortly after half-time during Sunday night's 3-0 win over Leicester City at the King Power Stadium following a coming together with Foxes forward Patson Daka.
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Heaven required medical attention from both United and Leicester medics before being carried off on a stretcher.
Heaven later left the King Power Stadium with his right leg in a protective boot. However, the good news was that he was able to walk out of the stadium without crutches.
The 18-year-old was making just his second start for the club against the Foxes after arriving from Arsenal at the beginning of February. His only previous start had come against Real Sociedad in the Europa League just 72 hours earlier.
Despite his inexperience, Heaven has made a very impressive start to his United career, bringing a sense of calmness and composure to the defence. He is very accomplished on the ball and his hunger to defend cannot be questioned.
United were without Harry Maguire, Leny Yoro, Jonny Evans and Lisandro Martinez at the weekend, meaning Heaven partnered Matthijs de Ligt and Victor Lindelof in the back-three.
Lindelof made just his sixth start of the season against Ruud van Nistelrooy's team and is expected to leave Old Trafford this summer, as is Evans.
Head coach Ruben Amorim does not expect to be without Yoro or Maguire for long, so much so that they could be back for the trip to Nottingham Forest in a fortnight's time, but neither of them are left-footed, meaning they are not a natural fit to operate on the left of the back three.
Martinez is left-footed but he is out for the remainder of the season with an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, while Luke Shaw, who can slot in at centre-back, remains out injured.
Evans is comfortable on either foot but his injury problems continue and, as mentioned, he is expected to leave in the summer. Heaven is the only other left-footed centre-back within United's senior ranks.
Patrick Dorgu can play at left-sided centre-back but it is no secret he is at his best when stationed out wide.
As a result, if United do find themselves being without Heaven for a lengthy period of time, it is going to disrupt the balance within the defence that Amorim thought he had discovered with Heaven's promising breakthrough.
Left-footed centre-backs are considered a luxury nowadays and Heaven's first few performances for the club have left United supporters excited by his potential.
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Amorim admitted after the draw with Arsenal that he thinks United "have a player there".
Hopefully, the update due on Heaven's condition will be encouraging and a potential spell on the sidelines will be relatively short. However, if he has suffered a long-term injury, Amorim's hopes of finally settling on some consistency in the backline will be banished.