Ruben Amorim has made it clear that Manchester United's key players will not be given a complete rest ahead of their Europa League final clash with Tottenham. Despite planning to rotate his squad for Sunday's match against West Ham at Old Trafford, Amorim emphasised the need for his star players to maintain their sharpness for the final in Bilbao on May 21.
Captain Bruno Fernandes, defenders Harry Maguire and Noussair Mazraoui, midfielder Casemiro, and winger Alejandro Garnacho will all be rested from the starting line-up against the Hammers. However, they will all take part in the match against Chelsea prior to the Europa League final. Amorim conceded that they cannot risk entering such a crucial game without maintaining their match fitness and rhythm. "No, they will play, because sometimes it's better to play," stated Amorim. "What I will protect is those players who can get an injury.
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"The last game before Tottenham, away to Chelsea, was moved to Friday, so we will have time to recover. Bruno doesn't have the problem of any injury, but Harry has, so we will have to manage that. But they have to play and it's better to play than to stay out."
United's impressive 4-1 semi-final second-leg victory over Athletic Bilbao, securing a 7-1 aggregate win, saw several players return to form after lengthy injury absences.
Mason Mount, who scored twice after coming off the bench, along with Amad and Luke Shaw, continued their recovery from injury and are expected to start Sunday's game and vie for a place in the final.
"With some players, we have some doubts that they will recover, but they will push forward a little bit," Amorim revealed. "We have to manage that, not to take risks and then to have big issues. Of course, they will fight for a place in the final.
"They will be ready, excited. That's a good thing, not just for the final, but also to prepare for the games of the Premier League, with something in our minds that we can win. It's going to be massive.
"I think it's a good thing for the players that we will not have a lot of training sessions. They will fight for their places in the final in these next two games. Against Brentford, we made some mistakes and I felt that some of our players were thinking about this game [against Bilbao]."
With three Premier League fixtures remaining this term, Amorim has acknowledged the Europa League as the main focus but recognises the importance of fielding a team that can triumph in domestic matches too.
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"We have to acknowledge that we are Manchester United," Amorim asserted. "We need to win games also in the Premier League.
"We have to use every game to improve, even to prepare for the final, but especially to prepare for the future.
"Of course, I will try to manage everything. They don't need a lot of load now, so the training sessions are going to be soft in that department. But of course they will push each other."