The Ruud van Nistelrooy era (at least on a caretaker basis) officially begins at Manchester United. His first match in charge, on an interim basis, comes Wednesday when Leicester City come to town. And for this League Cup Round of 16 affair, United have a brand new fitness concern- Noussair Mazraoui, as the full-back was forced off due to injury, in the shock (was it though?) loss to West Ham United.
He joins a very long list of injured players for Van Nistelrooy to be concerned with.
Leicester City at Manchester United FYIs
Competition: EFL Cup Round of 16
Kick: Wed. Oct 30, 7:45pm, Old Trafford, Manchester, UK
United Preview Content: Erik ten Hag Replacement Candidates Starting XI Prediction Team News
How They Got Here: Man United- Beat Barnsley 7-0 (third round)
Leicester City- beat Tranmere Rovers 4-0 (second round), Beat Walsall 3-0 on penalties, 0-0 FT (third round)
Man United Team News
Kobbie Maino and Leny Yoro should be back some time after the November internationals, while Harry Maguire could return or week or so ahead of them. Mason Mount remains out indefinitely. Are Tyrell Malacia and Luke Shaw ever going to play for the team again? That’s not really much of a joke anymore.
It’s starting to become an actual fair question, considering how many times the club has moved the goalposts back on the chronically injured left backs.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America and RG.org. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.