Spursvs.Man Utd

The Red Devils are also allegedly sweating over the fitness of both Manuel Ugarte and Toby Collyer, with the pair suffering injuries at Carrington in the build-up to Sunday's Premier League clash with Tottenham Hotspur.

Man United head coach Ruben Amorim said during his pre-match press conference on Friday that the team "had some problems" towards the end of the week in terms of the first-team squad.

"It has been a good week," he told reporters. "Until two days ago, [when] we had some problems. Also as we don't have players back.

"Maybe we will have one or two issues, but we are waiting. We have one player who is sick, so we will see the team on the weekend. But it was good to work with the team and to try to help the players in our performances."

Amorim did not name those impacted, but according to The Athletic journalist Laurie Whitwell, Mainoo has picked up an issue which could keep him on the sidelines for the next couple of weeks.

Meanwhile, Ugarte and Collyer are also major doubts, handing Amorim a selection dilemma in midfield.

Man United trio Mainoo, Ugarte, Collyer 'all suffer injuries'

Jack Moorhouse, 19, could allegedly make the trip to London on Saturday, with the midfielder potentially being included in the Man United first-team squad for the first time in his career.

Luke Shaw, Mason Mount, Jonny Evans and Lisandro Martinez are also currently on the sidelines through injury, so Man United could be without the services of seven players for their clash with Tottenham.

The Red Devils have not been in action since a 2-1 success over Leicester City in the fourth round of the FA Cup last Friday, but midfield issues appear to have hit the team at a crucial period of the campaign.

While Mainoo looks certain to miss at least the next couple of matches, it is thought to still be possible that Ugarte or Collyer will make the squad for what is a huge game against Spurs this weekend.

Who will start in midfield against Spurs if all three miss out?

Bruno Fernandes has recently been playing in a deeper area, and that would almost certainly be the case if all three are ruled out, but head coach Amorim would then face a major decision when it comes to the second player in the middle.

Casemiro is out of favour and highly unlikely to start, meaning that Christian Eriksen could be used, but the lack of a holding midfielder would be hugely concerning for Amorim against a Spurs side that are full of energy.

Martinez would have been the likeliest of the defenders to potentially be pushed into a midfield role, but the Argentine is out for the season with a severe knee problem.

As a result, Amorim will be hopeful that at least one of Ugarte or Collyer can shake off their issue in time to be involved.

There have also been suggestions that Chido Obi could be in the squad at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with the 17-year-old, who has recently been training with the first team, in excellent goalscoring form for the academy since his arrival from Arsenal.

Written by

Matt Law