Manchester United have a host of fitness concerns as they host West Bromwich Albion tomorrow, so let’s jump right in to covering them all. Marcus Rashford missed out on England duty this part international break, due to a slight shoulder problem, but did train on Friday.
He could feature here, but perhaps in a limited role. Victor Lindelof continues to struggle with a back issue, so he will be assesed before kickoff.
Manchester United vs West Bromwich Albion FYIs
Kickoff: 3pm ET Saturday Nov 21, Old Trafford
Early/In Depth United Team News: go here and also here
Manchester United Starting XI Prediction: go here
Odds: United win (-334), West Brom win (+850) draw (+425)
“Luke Shaw, Jesse Lingard and Phil Jones are the only ones who didn’t join in parts of the training today [on Friday],” manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said today.
“Some are in different stages after internationals, recoveries and working back after fitness and we’ll make a decision [on Friday] but most of them have joined in today and yesterday, so it’s looking good.
“Some of them are probably doubts. Marcus joined for the first time [on Friday]. Victor, we’ll have to check because his back is not great.”
Shaw, Lingard and Phil Jones are definitely out; ditto for Eric Bailly, who is on the mend, but still a week or two away.
Mason Greenwood will be available after having missed United’s last match.
The official reason for Greenwood’s absence was an “illness.” He missed out on England duty as well this break, but that was likely to happen regardless of his health. Having broken covid-19 safety precautions at the team hotel in Iceland last time around, he’s not exactly in the best standing with the national side right now.
He probably won’t feature here though as he’s been out of training for over a week.
“Everyone is allowed to not be well,” Solskjaer said.
“He’s been away eight or nine days from training and I have no doubts about him. He has a very good head on him and talent is there for all to see.”
For West Brom, Hal Robson-Kanu and Sam Field remain out as long term injury absentees.
Matheus Pereira, Branislav Ivanovic and Callum Robinson have all recently contracted coronavirus, and thus their returns to action are subject to testing negative.
Said Baggies boss Slaven Bilic on the COVID-19 tests:
“Hopefully they are all going to be good, but we had a few cases, yes. (It is) confidential. We cannot say the names. Let’s say a few, but the good thing is players like Pereira and Ivanovic are back.”
“They have been training this week so they should be alright for the game against Man United. Callum Robinson went (away) for Ireland, but he got a positive test.
“He is fit, he did a test last night and the results came this morning. He is negative so we are hoping to see today, but they should (all) be okay.”
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and SB Nation. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.