Erik ten Hag has provided an update on Manchester United’s squad situation, in advance of the trip south to face Chelsea in the Premier League.
The Reds are in action at Stamford Bridge on Thursday night, kicking off at 20:15 BST, but must do so without the services of centre-backs Victor Lindelof and Lisandro Martinez.
On Tuesday, we confirmed the pair will miss our next few games, which was a blow ahead of our second successive game in the capital, following the 1-1 draw at Brentford last weekend.
CHELSEA V UNITED: WHO STARTS? ADCARDMAKE YOUR PREDICTIONSThe good news is both Jonny Evans and Raphael Varane have trained on Wednesday. Evans has been managing a minor issue and missed international duty with Northern Ireland as a result, while Varane came off at half-time on Saturday, mainly as a precaution.
Harry Maguire is also available, after replacing Varane during the interval at the Gtech Community Stadium, which ensures there is still competition at the heart of the defence.
“[There are] no more issues,” explained Ten Hag. “In the frontline and in midfield, we are okay. We have options there. In the backline, we have a lack of options but the good thing is, this afternoon, back in training are Rapha Varane and Jonny Evans, and Harry Maguire was already back in training yesterday.”
Amad returns from suspension, following his unusual red card for celebrating that dramatic winner against Liverpool in the Emirates FA Cup quarter-final at Old Trafford.
Luke Shaw, Tyrell Malacia and Anthony Martial remain on the sidelines, but Altay Bayindir resumed training this week after a recent lay-off.
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England full-back Ben Chilwell is set to be absent due to illness but Malo Gusto is available, despite picking up a hamstring problem against Burnley.
In a boost for the Blues, Robert Sanchez, Trevoh Chalobah and Carney Chukwuemeka are back in training ahead of the game.
“Trevoh and Malo trained with us,” confirmed boss Mauricio Pochettino at a press conference. “They will be ready to be in the squad. Chilly [Chilwell]? No, we didn’t see him since Friday because the doctor removed a lot of fluid from his knee. Saturday, he got ill. Monday, Tuesday and today, he’s not here. He’s at home.”
Forward Christopher Nkunku is definitely still sidelined, with Pochettino saying: “At the moment, we don’t know when it’s possible to start training with the team. I have no information. He is recovering. It’s longer than we expected.”
Reece James, Wesley Fofana, Romeo Lavia and Lesley Ugochukwu are also out.
