Manchester United will be missing three forwards against Real Sociedad

The 20-time English champions head to Spain knowing that they need to overcome the La Liga outfit by a two-goal margin in order to top the group and automatically advance into the knockout round of the competition.

The squad has been boosted by the return of central defender Victor Lindelof, who was missing against West Ham United in the Premier League on Sunday due to illness.

However, Martial, Antony and Sancho will not be involved in the European contest.

Martial is back in full first-team training, as the France international bids to overcome the back issue that has kept him on the sidelines since the early stages of last month.

However, the 26-year-old, who has been restricted to just four appearances this term due to his injury issues, has ultimately been left out of the squad for this match.

Antony, meanwhile, was not involved in Sunday's 1-0 win over West Ham due to a knock that he sustained in training, and the Brazil international did not train on Wednesday.

Having been unable to overcome the problem, the summer signing from Ajax has also been left out of the squad.

Man United's attack has been further weakened by the news that Sancho will not be involved in the game with Real Sociedad due to illness.

Sancho was an unused substitute against the Hammers on Sunday, but he has scored three times this season, including a strike against Sheriff Tiraspol in the Europa League in the middle of September.

Cristiano Ronaldo has two goals in the Europa League this season and looks set to keep his starting role in the final third of the field.

Meanwhile, Marcus Rashford, who netted his 100th goal for the club at the weekend, is also likely to feature in attack for Erik ten Hag's side on Thursday night.

Alejandro Garnacho made his full first-team debut against Sheriff last week and is now in contention to start for the second time in a row in the competition, although Anthony Elanga was given the nod for the first whistle against West Ham.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka is back in the squad, but Brandon Williams, Axel Tuanzebe and Raphael Varane remain on the sidelines through injury.

The absences in the first-team squad mean that there are travelling sports for Radek Vitek, Zidane Iqbal and Shola Shoretire, while Facundo Pellistri has also made the trip.

Man United squad vs. Real Sociedad:

De Gea, Dubravka, Vitek; Lindelof, Maguire, L Martinez, Malacia, Dalot, Shaw, Wan-Bissaka; Fernandes, Eriksen, Fred, Casemiro, Pellistri, Van de Beek, McTominay, Iqbal; Ronaldo, Rashford, Elanga, Shoretire, Garnacho