Man United are back in the Premier League this week as they take on Burnley away from hom and it looks like manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be without some very important players for the next few days.
United took on Watford in the FA Cup this past weekend and the trio of Paul Pogba, Luke Shaw and Lindelof all missed the match due to injuries. Also, to make matters worse, Eric Bailly had to be taken off just before half time with a potential head injury.
And now as per the manager, these players are facing a race against time to be fit before Man United head to Anfield next weekend.
“I hope so. I hope all of them for Liverpool anyway,” he told reporters, as per Manutd.com. “I’m not sure if they’ll make the Burnley one, but we have light training tomorrow [Sunday] and we’ll see on Monday.”
“We’re not even halfway through the season yet. I feel that every game in the Premier League is a challenge, is a test.
“Every game gives you a test – Watford today gave us a test; Burnley is one test, Liverpool is another, then you go to Fulham [the following week] which is a different test again. No-one will remember how the league table looked on 12 January 2021.”
Eric Bailly only suffered a knock against the Hornets and should be fit. But we don’t think the Man United boss will risk using him against Sean Dyche’s side on Tuesday.
The rest of the injured players are also expected to miss the trip to Turf Moor just so they can recover in time for the key Liverpool game on Sunday.
Apart from these players, defenders Marcos Rojo and Phil Jones are also out with injuries but Solskjaer has proper backups in each and every department across the pitch.
Axel Tuanzebe is likely to partner Harry Maguire in central defence on Tuesday if Lindelof and Bailly are both absent with Alex Telles playing at left-back.
Solskjaer does have the quality in his squad to see the Burnley game through and his main focus will be to get his injured players back to full fitness but the crucial Anfield trip.
