Erik ten Hag will be without nine players for the Premier League match vs Everton after Jonny Evans and England forward Marcus Rashford were passed fit during the build-up.
Scott McTominay and Antony competing on the training ground. (Image: Manchester United via Getty Images)
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Manchester United will have Marcus Rashford available for their Premier League match with Everton on Saturday afternoon (12.30pm). Owing to injury problems, though, Erik ten Hag does not have too many options to shuffle his pack following a humbling 3-1 defeat to neighbours Manchester City.
United were missing eight players for that game, while Rashford and Jonny Evans had to be withdrawn. However, during his pre-match press conference, Ten Hag confirmed both men will be available at Old Trafford and Rashford was spotted training at Carrington on Wednesday morning.
Defensively is where United are particularly short, with Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Harry Maguire, Lisandro Martinez and Luke Shaw nursing injuries, meaning a back-four comprising of Diogo Dalot, Raphael Varane, Evans and Lindelof is, perhaps, the only way Ten Hag can go unless youngster Willy Kambwala is handed further exposure.
Casemiro and Kobbie Mainoo have become a settled partnership for the engine room in recent matches, though Scott McTominay also has to be factored in. Alejandro Garnacho, Bruno Fernandes and Rashford are pretty much certain starters, so it could come down to a straight shootout between McTominay and Antony – whose possible inclusion would prompt a reshuffle in attacking quarters – for the final spot.
Fernandes operated as a false nine against City with Garnacho, McTominay and Rashford in behind, from right to left, but Rashford is another contender to lead the line centrally. Reinforcements are on the way, but the Everton game will come too soon for Wan-Bissaka, Maguire, Mason Mount and Rasmus Hojlund.
Wan-Bissaka, Maguire and Hojlund should be available for the following FA Cup tie with Liverpool, while Mount’s return has been pencilled in for after the international break. Omari Forson (unspecified) is on the treatment table after his short cameo in the City reverse.
