Mazraoui, Mainoo & Shaw: Man United injury news and expected return dates ahead of Leicester and Chelsea games
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Manchester United’s life without Erik ten Hag gets underway with an EFL Cup tie with Leicester City on Wednesday evening – but interim manager Ruud van Nistelrooy, who has been temporarily promoted following his compatriot’s sacking on Monday, will rue the fact that changing coaches hasn’t done anything to address United’s lengthy injury list.
As many as ten first-team players could be absent for the midweek match at Old Trafford, with summer signing Nouassir Mazraoui the latest player to suffer an injury scare after he was substituted late on in the 2-1 defeat to West Ham United that marked the end of Ten Hag’s frustrating reign.
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Hide AdBelow, we’ve collected all of the latest injury news, updates and, where available, expected return dates ahead of both Wednesday night’s game against Leicester and Sunday’s Premier League fixture against Chelsea.
Nouassir Mazraoui
The Moroccan was back to playing as a full-back against West Ham after a brief and unexpected role as a number ten in the Europa League match against Fenerbahçe, but he wasn’t able to complete the game – Mazraoui limped off with an apparent knee injury in the closing stages and was replaced by Victor Lindelöf. No details of the severity of the potential problem have been made available, and his status for this week’s matches is in doubt.
Kobbie Mainoo
The gifted young midfielder has missed the last three matches after being forced to pull out of England’s most recent Nations League squad thanks to a muscular injury, apparently to his thigh or hamstring, that he sustained in the 0-0 draw with Aston Villa earlier in October. Ten Hag said that he would be out for a “couple of weeks” prior to last week’s games, meaning that he is unlikely to feature until Manchester United play Leicester again in the league on 10 November, with a lengthier lay-off still possible.
Luke Shaw
It was originally hoped that the England left-back would be back in September, but complications arising from his calf injury means that Shaw has yet to make his first appearance of the campaign. He has returned to training and is building up his fitness at Carrington, but Ten Hag had said that the club will take his return “very carefully”. There have been no further updates, but a return for the Chelsea match is still possible, if not necessarily probable.
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The perennially-frustrating Brazilian winger was stretchered off after getting clattered during the 1-1 draw with José Mourinho’s Fenerbahçe side and missed the defeat to West Ham. It has since been revealed that Antony picked up a sprained ankle, and while the injury is “not as bad as first feared”, he is still unlikely to play this week as he recovers. Mid-November is a likely timeframe for his return to action.
Mason Mount
The former Chelsea man has yet to complete 90 minutes in the league this season and hasn’t featured since sustaining a knock against Tottenham Hotspur back in September as a result of what seems to be a more serious injury than initially suggested. Details of his injury have been kept under wraps, although Ten Hag did say ahead of the Fenerbahçe game that he would be “back soon”. Whether that will be soon enough to face his old club on Sunday remains to be seen.
Leny Yoro
The £52m summer signing has yet to play a competitive game in red since arriving from Lille, but has posted intermittent positive updates on social media as he rehabilitates following surgery on a broken metatarsal that he picked up during a pre-season friendly. He is now back out training with the first team on grass, but no fixed return date has been set. There is some chance that he could be ready to play Chelsea, but it seems more likely that he makes his Manchester United debut later in November.
Harry Maguire
The experienced centre-back sustained an unspecified muscular injury prior to the last international break and was expected to miss a “few weeks” of action afterwards. That vague prognosis puts his return somewhere in November, with the Premier League game against former side Leicester the earliest plausible point for a recall.
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Hide AdTyrell Malacia
The Dutch left-back has been out for well over a year following a serious anterior cruciate ligament injury, but is back in training and closing in on a return. The club are keen to take it slow with his fitness and have not put a date on his comeback, but it seems likely that we will see Malacia again at some stage in November.
Toby Collyer
No public information has been offered about the injury status of the young midfielder, who was withdrawn from the recent squad to face Brentford after apparently picking up a problem in training. No details about the nature or severity of the issue are available, and Collyer could be back to bolster the bench at any point.
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