Manchester United caretaker manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will really have to cobble together a makeshift lineup tomorrow night when his side is at Crystal Palace for a mid-week Premier League fixture.
Jesse Lingard, Ander Herrera, Phil Jones, Matteo Darmian, Anthony Martial, Phil Jones, Antonio Valencia, Nemanja Matic and Juan Mata are all essentially ruled out, while striker Marcus Rashford faces a last minute fitness test. That’s nine, possibly ten players out if you’re scoring at home.
“There are not a lot of positives, no,” Solskjaer responded to the very first question of his news conference (video below) today, which was on the fitness situation.
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“Matteo trained the other day, I don’t think he’ll be ready. Rashy, we’re still waiting to see how his ankle is responding to the treatment. The muscle injuries are too early to think about.
“Phil has been ill, so he’s been out for a little while as well. Luckily, at centre-back there are quite a few fit ones. Valencia is a bit off because he did his calf again. He’s still a few weeks off.
“Martial is not going to be ready for this one, either. We can’t risk it. Maybe Southampton [on Saturday], but we’re not going to risk another one.
Expect to see some of the youth team players get a call up for this match.
“The kids are joining in. They’ll be involved in the squad,” the birthday boy added.
The injury crisis presents itself with some opportunities for overpaid and underperforming veterans like Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez to shed the “disappointing” label.
Manchester United at Crystal Palace FC FYIs
Kick-off: Wednesday February 27, Selhurst Park, 8pm (BST), 2pm (CST)
United Starting XI Prediction: go to this link
Full, Detailed United Injury Report: go to this link
Odds via Ladbrokes: United 5/4, Draw 12/5, Crystal Palace 21/10
Google Result Probability: Manchester United win 42%, Draw 28%, Crystal Palace win 30%
Prediction: United 1, Palace 0
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, regularly appears as a guest pundit on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
He also contributes sociopolitical essays to Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to his.