The latest Manchester United team news, injury updates and predicted line-up ahead of their crucial game against Spurs.
Manchester United welcome Tottenham Hotspur to Old Trafford on Saturday, in a match which has taken on added significance due to the pressure which is mounting on both managers following poor starts to the Premier League season – but United’s chances of securing an important victory for Michael Carrick could be hampered by a number of injury concerns.
Patrick Dorgu and Nouassir Mazraoui both sustained injuries over the course of the extended international break, while several key players withdrew from their countries’ squads in advance due to fitness concerns, including Kobbie Mainoo, Marcus Rashford and Benjamin Šeško. In total, no fewer than 10 first-team players are known to be either out or doubts for this weekend’s game.
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While we await updates on the availability of their injured players, we’ve collected all of the latest Manchester United team news below alongside our prediction for Carrick’s likely starting line-up against Spurs.
Dorgu & Mazraoui among major Manchester United injury worries
The international break claimed two victims from Manchester United’s first-team squad, with the biggest worry being Dorgu, who pulled up with a hamstring injury around 30 minutes into Denmark’s win over Wales.
The 21-year-old wideman returned to Old Trafford for further tests, with the results of those assessments kept under wraps until the head coach’s press conference on Friday. It was confirmed that Dorgu faces a lay-off of several weeks, although an exact return date was not provided.
Full-back Mazraoui, meanwhile, had to be substituted during Morocco’s Africa Cup of Nations Qualifying win over Lesotho due to what appeared to be a back injury. Carrick said that he wouldn’t be ready for the Spurs match, but it doesn’t appear likely that he faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines.
One player who escaped injury after a scare was Bruno Fernandes, who missed Portugal’s first Nations League game against Norway due to a fitness issue. The midfielder remained with his squad, however, and played almost the full 90 minutes in their two remaining games. He is expected to be fully fit for the weekend.
Šeško, Rashford, Mainoo and more among doubts for Spurs match
A number of players withdrew from their respective national squads ahead of the international, including England pair Rashford and Mainoo. The former suffered a minor injury during the recent 1-1 draw with Fulham while the latter apparently pulled out of Thomas Tuchel’s squad due to load management concerns. Both are expected to be fit to play against Spurs, although that had not been confirmed by Carrick at the time of writing.
There is rather more concern over the status of Slovenian striker Šeško, who suffered a recurrence of the shin injury he sustained after colliding with the advertising hoardings during a game against Liverpool in the spring and withdrew from international duty as a result. On Friday, Carrick confirmed that the forward would miss Saturday’s match, with the target date for his comeback currently unknown.
Manchester United also have a potential headache in goal after back-up Karl Darlow pulled out of Wales duty with an undisclosed injury. With Tom Heaton sidelined by a hamstring problem, it is unclear who might be on the bench to back up Senne Lammens.
There is at least good news on the availability of both Amad Diallo and Matthijs de Ligt, neither of whom have yet featured this season due to respective ankle and back injuries. Diallo has returned to training, while De Ligt played in a behind-closed-doors friendly against Lausanne during the break. Both could be involved against Spurs, as could Carlos Baleba, who was on the bench against Fulham and is likely to make his debut against Spurs, as a starter or a substitute.
The only other player who will miss Saturday’s match is midfielder Manuel Ugarte, who suffered an ACL injury during the World Cup while playing for Uruguay. He is expected to miss most or perhaps all of the current campaign.