MANCHESTER United manager Erik ten Hag has provided no further updates on the state of Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez’s injuries but he has hope for Luke Shaw and Scott McTominay.
The two central defenders limped off last night during United’s 2-2 UEFA Europa League quarter-final first leg draw against Sevilla at Old Trafford, which Shaw and McTominay missed.
Ten Hag said the club will have to wait for further medical diagnosis on the injuries to Martinez and Varane, while he offered hope that McTominay and Shaw could return for Sunday’s Premier League clash at Nottingham Forest.
“No, sorry, [I do not know any more information]. It is not even 24 hours [since the Sevilla match] so I don’t have complete diagnosis. So I can’t tell [the severity of the injuries] in this moment,” Ten Hag told reporters during his pre-match press conference today.
“When we have news we will give it straight to you. But let’s do the medical, do their assessments and full diagnose, complete diagnose, and then we will give you the news. But I think it doesn’t change in this moment.”
When asked if any previously unavailable players could be fit for Sunday, Ten Hag replied: “Are any players available that were missing? For Sunday, yeah, [they] could be. But we have to see.
“We have now two sessions to go of training, so I don’t know by now. But it can be that Scott and Luke return in the squad, but [we are] not sure.”
Despite the long list of injuries which also includes Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho, Ten Hag remained positive, highlighting the impressive performances of several other squad players who came in to great effect against the Spaniards.
“We have depth in the squad. We have to use the squad – that’s also what we did yesterday,” he noted.
“In the meantime, you have to win games so also you have to have a tactical approach to win games, but I think we have good players and when we have problems – injuries and suspensions – we have depth in the squad.
“[Against Sevilla] Aaron Wan-Bissaka played very well, Antony played very well, Marcel Sabitzer played really well. Bruno played very good and Anthony Martial as well.”
Meanwhile, Forest are hopeful that their Nigeria forward Emmanuel Dennis is fully fit for the encounter, along with his compatriot Taiwo Awoniyi, who recently returned from a long lay-off.
“Emmanuel Dennis just about made the bench last week but was a risk. And then we picked up two injuries in the game as well,” Forest manager Steve Cooper explained.
“On that front, not ideal again. It’s definitely not gone our way with injuries. We’ve done everything to look at why that is.”
While United are fourth and chasing a UEFA Champions League ticket, Forest are at the other end of the table in 18th spot, one of the three relegation places.
