Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho has expressed sympathy for Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Marcos Rojo after the two players were sidelined with "significant knee ligament damage".
The Red Devils confirmed the extent of the injuries suffered by both players in the 2-1 Europa League win over Anderlecht on Thursday, with the duo seemingly set to miss the rest of the season.
With Ibrahimovic turning 36 in October, he faces a long road to recovery, while for Rojo, his injury comes at a time when he was arguably in the best form of his career, and Mourinho feels for the duo.
"It is a big blow but we are really sad for them, not for us as a team, because they are much more important than us," Mourinho told Sky Sports News.
"The injuries are really big. No player deserves to be injured. These two cases are even sadder because for Zlatan, in this phase of his career, it is really, really hard.
"Marcos was probably in the best moment of his career. He was playing very, very well for us and also getting, finally, a position as a central defender in the [Argentina] national team so I am really sad for them."
Ibrahimovic's contract at Old Trafford is up at the end of the season, while Rojo's deal lasts until 2019.