Jose Mourinho has the mother of all striking headaches that could force him into playing Marouane Fellaini up front against Chelsea.

Mourinho is without no fewer than four of his first choice forwards with Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Wayne Rooney, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial all missing for Manchester United's trip to Stamford Bridge.

Ibrahimovic’s three-match ban for elbowing Bournemouth’s Tyrone Mings kicks in this evening while captain Rooney was injured in a collision with Phil Jones in training.

Rostov vs Manchester United player ratings Show all 11 1 /11 Rostov vs Manchester United player ratings Rostov vs Manchester United player ratings Sergio Romero - 5 out of 10 Could have stood much taller against Aleksandr Bukharov and perhaps prevented the goal. Rostov vs Manchester United player ratings Chris Smalling - 4 out of 10 Almost as culpable as Jones for the goal. Some simple communication between the pair would have prevented Rostov’s goal. Rostov vs Manchester United player ratings Phil Jones - 4 out of 10 Cost his side when he failed to track Bukharov's run over his shoulder. Too easily beaten by the long ball out the back. Rostov vs Manchester United player ratings Marcos Rojo – 6 out of 10 United’s best defender, though that is not saying much. Produced an important, last-ditch tackle to deny Rostov on the break late on. Rostov vs Manchester United player ratings Ashley Young - 6 out of 10 Showed purpose from wing-back in the first-half but ultimately lacked a telling end-product. Rostov vs Manchester United player ratings Daley Blind - 5 out of 10 Left with too much responsibility as a lone man on the left flank. Struggled to offer United the width they required to penetrate. Rostov vs Manchester United player ratings Marouane Fellaini - 7 out of 10 One player who suited the adverse conditions underfoot and repeated balls over the top. Combined his physicality with a rare bit of technique in the build-up to Henrikh Mkhitaryan's goal. Rostov vs Manchester United player ratings Ander Herrera – 5 out of 10 Game for the rough tackling that defined the first half hour but offered little more. Rostov vs Manchester United player ratings Paul Pogba – 4 out of 10 Failed to impose himself on a game once again. Jose Mourinho is trying to play him into form but he remains some way off. Rostov vs Manchester United player ratings Henrikh Mkhitaryan – 7 out of 10 A promising return to the side, curtailed by his second-half substitution. There at the right place at the right time to put away the opener. Rostov vs Manchester United player ratings Zlatan Ibrahimovic – 6 out of 10 A sublime assist for the opener, then too quiet after it, but rarely received service in the right areas.

Frenchman Martial is also injured while Rashford, seemingly the most likely to deputise for top scorer Ibrahimovic over the next three games, was taken ill and didn’t travel with the rest of the squad to London on Sunday night.

That leaves midfielder Fellaini as Mourinho’s most likely option in a hammer blow to United’s pre-match preparations.

Meanwhile, the ex-Chelsea boss bemoaned his former club’s lack of European football this season and the advantages that affords them and manager Antonio Conte.

“The most difficult thing is to have time to work and they have time to work,” he said. “I know he (Conte) said a couple of days ago or a couple of weeks ago that it is not his fault they are not in European competitions.

“It is my fault and the Chelsea players’ fault but the reality is that he got his hands on a situation where they have time to work, time to rest, time to relax, time to disconnect, time to travel, time to have holidays, time to go to America and enjoy America for a couple of days.

“They have time for all these things so they are in a position of privilege, the same privilege Liverpool had a couple of years ago when they almost won the Premier League.

“I don’t want to say that Chelsea don’t deserve credit for it. They choose a certain style of play that I think is very well adapted to the qualities of their players. They defend a lot and they defend well. They counter attack and kill opponents on the counter attack in a similar way to my Chelsea.