Crystal Palace are hoping that Patrick Vieira will be the dugout on Sunday afternoon when his plucky Eagles play Manchester United.
The former Arsenal midfielder has enjoyed a promising start to life at Selhurst Park.
Palace find themselves 11th in the early Premier League standings - and picked up a stunning victory over reigning champions Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium a few weeks ago.
But the south Londoners have, potentially, been dealt a significant blow for their meeting with United.
Vieira arrived at training on Friday morning, but the Frenchman was forced to leave immediately in order to deal with an 'urgent family matter'. It meant that he passed on the session - and subsequent media duties - to assistant manager Osian Roberts.
Should he take place on the touchline, Vieira will pit his wits against new United interim manager Ralf Rangnick.
The innovative German coach is preparing for his first assignment with the Premier League giants after agreeing to step into the breach after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's high-profile sacking.
Michael Carrick took charge of the last three games before his own departure - securing wins against Villarreal and Arsenal either side of a creditable draw with Chelsea.
Speaking pre-match, Roberts said: "Patrick was in as normal for training.
"Unfortunately, he received a phone call and had to leave immediately to attend to an urgent family matter.
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"Obviously my thoughts are, first of all, with Patrick and the family. The staff have rallied around to make sure the training has been seamless. The players have been professional in the way they've applied themselves so we had a good session and all the plans are in place.
"It makes a big difference when Patrick is not here. He's our leader, the manager and you always want him at the helm leading matters.
"But we also have a responsibility in this unfortunate circumstance that we do everything correctly to make sure everything goes as smoothly as possible until he is back with us."
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