Manchester United manager Ralf Rangnick hinted that Edinson Cavani ruled himself out of the Manchester derby, despite returning to training this week.
Cristiano Ronaldo had already been sidelined with what Rangnick described as a hip flexor problem, and the manager opted to start with a front three of Anthony Elanga, Jadon Sancho and Bruno Fernandes - leaving Marcus Rashford on the bench.
Cavani has been out of action for close to a month, with his last minutes in a United shirt coming in the draw against Burnley on February 8.
The Uruguayan international has been struggling with a groin injury, missing a number of games as a result.
And the suggestion from United's boss was that Cavani himself made the decision to wait a little longer for his return.
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"Edi trained well in the last three days but, at the end, he didn’t feel quite well enough to be able to play," Rangnick said before the game, though there was no news on whether he will be back in the picture for an important run of games in the coming days.
Man Utd were also unable to call upon Luke Shaw and Raphael Varane for their trip to the Etihad Stadium, with the defensive duo unavailable after positive Covid tests.
Cavani had at least returned to training, giving fans hope that he might be able to play a part against the league leaders, but it was not to be.
Cavani, who turned 35 in February, has missed a number of games this season due to a succession of injuries.
Eight of his 15 club appearances this season have come from the bench, while he has only completed a full 90 minutes for United on three occasions.
The veteran extended his stay at Old Trafford for a second season after impressing last term, but is expected to leave at the end of the current campaign after a stop-start few months.
River Plate are believed to be leading the way for the former Napoli man, who has spent the last 15 years in Europe after leaving Montevideo-based club Danubio, though there has also been interest from Spain.
Cavani was linked with a January switch to Barcelona after struggling for minutes at Man Utd earlier in the season, but the sacking of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and the appointment of Rangnick allowed him to make more of an impact on first-team affairs.
Barca ended up solving their attacking issues by adding Ferran Torres and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to their ranks, suggesting Cavani is less likely to move to Camp Nou, but he will hope he can still offer something to United in the coming months before making his exit.
