Manchester United centre-back Phil Jones is only expected to return from a knee injury in November, according to The Athletic‘s David Ornstein.

Speaking on his Tifo Podcast this morning, the former BBC reporter was discussing the prospect of the Red Devils signing another centre-half, when he suggested that the club would need to offload a number of players first.

As well as mentioning Marcos Rojo and Chris Smalling, he stated Jones’ injury means he is unlikely to be offloaded before the transfer window closes. The 28-year-old sustained the issue at the back end of last season and underwent surgery last month.

United did not put a timeframe on his return to fitness and it seems they were being coy due to the seriousness of the problem. Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer also has fitness concerns over four other players heading into the new season, which you can read more about here.