Amorim to begin Man United journey without seven players

It's a week of firsts for Ruben Amorim at Manchester United. After conducting his first training session on Monday and his first press conference on Friday, the Portuguese coach is set to lead his first official game on Sunday as the Red Devils head to Ipswich in matchday 12 of the Premier League. Although he will have to wait until Thursday for his first game at Old Trafford, the excitement for Amorim's debut is still palpable. 

Van Nistelrooy's successful four-game run as interim manager following Ten Hag's sacking has proved significant in lifting the mood at the club ahead of the former Sporting manager's arrival. While Amorim has been granted a relatively 'approachable' opponent for his first game in charge, pressure is still on as he could see himself without seven key players for Sunday's fixture. 

Man United have been hit with an unfortunate wave of injuries on their return from the international break. Defender Victor Lindelof suffered a blow in Sweden's Nations League win over Slovakia last Saturday. The 30-year-old limped off the pitch in the first half with a hamstring problem and is set to be out for a couple of weeks. Recovery timings will be confirmed in the coming days, but as of now, the centre-back could look to come back for the league crunch against Arsenal at the Emirates.

Lisandro Martinez also picked up an injury while on international duty, with his status for Sunday's game currently in doubt. The Argentinian was forced to withdraw from the 'Albiceleste' camp as he was deemed not fit enough to play the World Cup qualifiers during the break. "We didn’t expect the case of Lisandro,” said Argentina boss Lionel Scaloni before the game at Paraguay. “We saw that he had suffered a blow to his back, but apparently, he had no problem, just pain. When he arrived here, the pain increased a bit, he underwent tests and is not fit to be here.”

England duo Harry Maguire and Kobbie Mainoo could not partake in the Three Lions' Nations League fixtures due to injuries picked up against Aston Villa before the break. Mainoo is said to have almost completed his recovery from a strained muscle, albeit is a concern for the Portman Road Stadium showdown, as reported by 'the Mirror'. Meanwhile, the former Leicester City player is ruled out until early December and will certainly miss Amorim's debut as United coach.

Luke Shaw, Leny Yoro and Tyrell Malacia are the remaining ones on Man United's injury list. The latter might be cleared to be involved against the newly promoted side, marking his first appearance after 18 months on the sidelines. Having featured for United's under-21s side, any potential minutes for Malacia are likely to come off the bench as Amorim will not want to take any risks.

Shaw has yet to kick off his 2024/25 campaign but is now a few weeks away from a return. The Englishman is back in training following hamstring and calf issues, which have kept him out throughout preseason - his last appearance was in the Euro 2024 final with England on July 14th. Summer-signing Yoro has also yet to make his mark after breaking his foot in a preseason match against Arsenal. Unlike the English full-back, who's unavailable for Sunday's game, the 19-year-old has the chance to finally make his competitive debut for Manchester United, with reports claiming that Amorim could look to include him in his starting XI.

Overall, out of the seven players mentioned above, Amorim will 100% be without three - Lindelof, Maguire, Shaw - while the remaining four - Mainoo, Martinez, Malacia, Yoro - are still a question mark for the game, although the latter's chances of playing are increasing as we get closer to kick off.

 

November 21, 2024