Man United take on Burnley in the Premier League on Tuesday and Alex Telles and Fred will both be unavailable for this game.
The good news is that Raphael Varane did pick up any injuries during their FA Cup and he will be ready to face Burnley. And along with the defender, Edinson Cavani and Jesse Lingard will also be available for selection.
“He [Varane] seems to be physically fit,” Rangnick said in his press conference. “He has no issues anymore with injuries. Hopefully, we can have him in the same fitness shape and same form as he was against Middlesbrough for the upcoming games.
“They[Cavani and Lingard] are both available and will both be part of the squad for tomorrow’s game at Burnley. Both are top professionals, both have been training well.”
The return of Cavani and Lingard is great news for the Man United manager but neither of them is likely to start on Tuesday. Their return will increase bench strength for sure but Rangnick will only use them as subs at Turf Moor.
But all is not good news because Fred and Alex Telles are both going to miss out because they have tested positive.
“Yeah we have two players missing,” Ralf told club media on Monday.
“Alex Telles already missed the cup game because he tested COVID positive last week and, unfortunately, the same thing happened today with Fred. That’s why he will be missing from tomorrow’s game and possibly even the game against Southampton.”
A change in formation for Man United?
Against Middlesbrough in the FA Cup, Ralf Rangnick used a single pivot in defensive midfield so that Paul Pogba gets to start and on Tuesday there was a chance that he could revert to a double pivot.
Paul Pogba makes his first start for Manchester United since November 🔴 pic.twitter.com/EKufcQWm8r
— GOAL (@goal) February 4, 2022
But with Fred missing, the manager once again has a thinned out midfield and instead of using Nemanja Matic alongside Scott McTominay, the Man United boss is likely to hand Paul Pogba a start once again.
Pogba put in a pretty solid shift on his return from injury and the manager has already hinted that the Frenchman is in line to play alongside McTominay and Bruno Fernandes.
