Manchester United have endured their roughest season ever, injury wise, but Thursday brought some alleviation to it. Manager Erik ten Hag indicated that Mason Mount, Anthony Martial and Victor Lindelof are all match fit and available for Saturday against Manchester City in the FA Cup Final.
“Harry Maguire is unavailable but the rest [Mount, Lindelof and Martial] are all available,” Ten Hag said.
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“Tomorrow [Friday] we will make final decisions. It is all about trophies but we need the opportunity to win a trophy. In the last 10 years not so many trophies in the club so it is an opportunity to win two in two years.”
Hard to say if any of them will actually play. Mount has had a very expensive disastrous first season at Old Trafford. He rarely ever played in 2023-24, so why bring him in now? Martial hasn’t featured since December, and he is so injury prone that it is easy to forget that he still on the team.
Lindelof could actually be in the mix, as United have a plethora of injuries in the central defense.
United finished eighth in the table this season, their worst ever finish in the Premier League era. However, winning this trophy, over a bitter rival and the league champions, would certainly be very redeeming.
“Every season we review and we will see where we are in the project and what we have to change. There are very good things, players coming up and developing and at the same time we have on Saturday a big opportunity to win the next trophy.”
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 Ravens Wire, part of the USA Today SMG’s NFL Wire Network and the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and the Washington Times. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.