Spurs4 - 3Man Utd

Matthijs de Ligt's absence through illness opened the door for Lindelof to feature in the middle of Man United's back three at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the last eight of the EFL Cup.

However, the Sweden international had to be replaced in the latter stages of the first half in North London, with Jonny Evans entering the field after recently recovering from a fitness problem of his own.

Lindelof will undergo tests at Carrington on Friday, but Amorim said after Thursday's 4-3 defeat to Spurs that the experienced defender "has something" and could be facing more time out.

"I think he has something, we have to assess to say specifically what he has, but it's tough to lose a player," Amorim told MUTV. "They work really hard, they want to return but like I said, the same thing with Luke Shaw, Mason Mount and Vic, they had injuries, they don't have space to train.

"Just preparing games is not perfect so we'll try to do it again altogether to have the full squad because with this schedule we need the full squad."

Lindelof was forced off injured against Tottenham

Lindelof missed the start of the campaign due to a toe problem, while he was recently on the sidelines with the groin issue which he suffered while representing Sweden during the November international break.

The 30-year-old's contract at Old Trafford is due to expire next June, and he is widely expected to leave on a free transfer.

Man United were knocked out of the EFL Cup courtesy of their 4-3 loss to Spurs, but Amorim has said that he was pleased with the "fight" that his team demonstrated during a chaotic cup tie.

"We showed that in the past games also when we were losing in difficult moments. We disconnect in the beginning of the second half, it was a tough moment for us, like 10 minutes. And then we return, I think we did a great job," he said.

"I think if you look at all the game, I think we were the best team but they [Spurs] were more clinical. We lose the game but the fight from the lads was really important for me."

Amorim takes positives from EFL Cup exit

Amorim also said that he saw "a lot of good things" during the fixture at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

"Tonight I don't feel nothing. There is nothing I can say to you. Tomorrow I will have a lot of things because I saw the game. Tonight we lost and we have to take a night to think and then tomorrow we will have a lot of good things from this game," he added.

"We cannot think in that way, that winning silverware makes everything okay. It will be a long way. We are improving as a team and our goal, I say the same thing after the game and before the game, our goal is to win the Premier League. How long it's going to take? I don't know but that is our goal."

Man United's attention will now switch back to the Premier League, with Bournemouth heading to Old Trafford on Sunday, before fixtures against Wolverhampton Wanderers (A) and Newcastle United (H) to end the year.

Written by

Matt Law