Jesse Lingard, who missed Manchester United’s season opening win over Leicester City due to his extended post World Cup holiday, could feature at Brighton & Hove Albion. United manager Jose Mourinho has confirmed the return of the young Englishman, adding that we could also see more minutes from four World Cup stars who returned to the team late.
Marcus Rashford, Romelu Lukaku, Marouane Fellaini and Paul Pogba all featured in week one of the regular season, but Mourinho expects a larger role from the quarter in week two.
That’s the good news. The bad news is that none of the six injured players, Sergio Romero, Antonio Valencia, Diogo Dalot, Marcos Rojo, Ander Herrera and Nemanja Matic, are set to return for this clash.
“I think we will have the same players (as against Leicester City in the opener),” Mourinho said.
“I think the injured players aren’t going to be back for Brighton. What we have is Paul (Pogba) with nine days’ training, (Marcus) Rashford with 11 days’ training, (Marouane) Fellaini with nine days’ training and, of course, they will be in a better condition.
“Normally, these boys that [against Leicester] were in a difficult situation will be ready to give a bit more (against Brighton) – more (Romelu) Lukaku, more Rashford, probably Lingard coming back, more Fellaini. I think normally we’re going to have more.”
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