Mainoo, Mount & Antony: Manchester United injury news and expected return dates ahead of PAOK clash

Manchester United return to action on Thursday evening when they face Greek side PAOK in the Europa League – but they are once again expected to be without several key players.

Interim head coach Ruud van Nistelrooy could be missing as many nine first-teamers for the game at Old Trafford, although at least one or two of them could well be back in time to face Leicester City in the Premier League on Sunday.

Kobbie Mainoo, Mason Mount and Antony are among the players closing rapidly in on a return, and we’ve got the latest updates on their fitness and the expected return dates of all of Manchester United’s injured players below.

Kobbie Mainoo

The England international midfielder picked up a hamstring injury in the 0-0 draw against Aston Villa in October and has been absent since, which Erik ten Hag saying around a fortnight ago that Mainoo was still “a couple of weeks” away from a return.

That means he should be back in action soon, but he wasn’t involved in the open training session at Carrington on Wednesday, implying that he won’t feature against PAOK. The home fixture against Leicester may yet be a realistic target.

Mason Mount

Mount was initially ruled out with what had been described as a “knock” that he picked up against Tottenham Hotspur over a month ago but hasn’t played since, with little information available about the nature and extent of the problem. Whatever was wrong with the former Chelsea attacking midfielder, however, he is now back in full training and potentially in contention to face PAOK.

Antony

The Brazilian winger hasn’t played since being stretchered off against Feberbahçe in Manchester United’s last Europa League tie – but his sprained ankle seems to have healed and he was back in training on Wednesday. There is a chance that he features against PAOK, although he is not likely to start.

Leny Yoro

The £52m summer signing hasn’t yet made his competitive United debut courtesy of a broken metatarsal, but he was spotted in first-team training during the week and is close to a return. Ten Hag had said prior to his dismissal that Yoro’s return “would not be rushed” but he is clearly close – even if it’s more likely that we see him on the other side of the international break.

Christian Eriksen

The Danish midfielder missed Manchester United’s last two matches due to an unknown injury problem. As with Mount, details were thin on the ground, but also as with Mount he was back on grass at Carrington on Wednesday and could play a part in the Europa League.

Harry Maguire

The experienced centre-back is still “inside working on his rehab” from a foot injury that has sidelined him since just before the October international break – meaning that while he is back in the gym, he hasn’t rejoined the first team sessions yet. He won’t face PAOK on Thursday and it seems unlikely that he will be ready for the visit of his old club Leicester at the weekend.

Luke Shaw

Another defender whose recovery from injury is taking longer than had been hoped, Shaw has yet to play this season thanks to a calf injury and hasn’t played for United at all since February. Former manager Erik ten Hag confirmed that he had endured another setback in training a couple of weeks ago, and he hasn’t yet resumed light team training. He will miss out this week, but is likely to be ready after the next international break later in November.

Tyrell Malacia

Having missed more than 14 months of football thanks to a serious anterior cruciate ligament injury, the Dutch wing-back is finally close to playing again, with Van Nistelrooy describing him as “flying” in team training with “no restrictions”. He is still expected to play for the Under-21s before he returns to the first-team set-up, however, with the EFL Trophy game against Huddersfield Town next Tuesday the first time we might see him back in action.

Toby Collyer

The young midfielder was withdrawn from the recent Premier League squad against Brentford at the last minute with an injury, and while the club have declined to provide any details, the Manchester Evening News have now reported that he is expected back in around a month’s time.