Manchester United have confirmed that Tom Heaton has picked up an injury and is set to be sidelined for a number of games.
As United prepare to get their Premier League campaign going when they host Wolves at Old Trafford on Monday, Heaton will not be available to Erik ten Hag for possible selection.
The Red Devils confirmed via the club’s official website, “The experienced goalkeeper sustained an injury in training that is still being assessed but he is expected to be unavailable for the first few weeks of the season.”
According to The Manchester Evening News, the setback suffered by Heaton could put a potential transfer to Nottingham Forest for Dean Henderson in jeopardy.
Steve Cooper’s side have been locked in negotiations with United for Henderson’s services.
The Englishman of course spent the 2022/23 campaign out on loan at the City Ground, where he impressed as Forest beat the drop.
The crux of talks between both clubs lies in the terms at which an obligation in any loan deal for Henderson would be activated.
Forest want the loan obligation to be triggered around the 30-game mark, while United want this to be set at around five games.
As per Luckhurst, Heaton’s calf injury could translate to Henderson being marooned at Old Trafford for at least one more season as Andre Onana’s deputy.
This scenario is especially made more likely now that the 20-time English champions have reportedly agreed a deal to let Matej Kovar join Bayer Leverkusen on a permanent basis and have already let Nathan Bishop leave for Sunderland.
Henderson did not play even a single minute of pre-season.
United recently pursued a move for Urawa Reds shot-stopper Zion Suzuki, but the Japanese star recently revealed that he turned down the chance to play for Ten Hag as he would only come in as an understudy to Onana.