Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
Samuel Luckhurst

Manchester United give team news and Edinson Cavani update ahead of Atletico Madrid tie

Edinson Cavani will be absent again for Manchester United's Champions League round-of-16 first leg against Atletico Madrid.

Cavani has missed the last three games with a groin injury and also had a stomach problem prior to Sunday's Premier League victory at Leeds.

"No, Edi will not be able to make the trip," interim United manager Ralf Rangnick confirmed. "He didn't train, he has not been training the last couple of weeks, so he won't be part of the group.

"He has problems with his groin and as long as he does not feel able to fully sprint, it doesn't make sense to train him and to force him back into training. He's got enough experience by himself to know when he's fully available again."

United went out of the Champions League at the group stage last season and have only reached the quarter-finals twice since they lost to Barcelona in the 2011 final at Wembley.

Atletico are Spanish champions but fifth in La Liga and lost at home to basement side Levante last week. With United four points clear in fourth in the Premier League and little chance of winning the Champions League, there have been some suggestions they might have to prioritise their domestic form, but Rangnick dismissed the notion the Champions League could be a distraction.

"No, the Champions League can never be a distraction, that's why the team qualified and was desperate to qualify for this season's Champions League," Rangnick stressed. "And if you want to qualify for next season's Champions League how can it be a distraction?

"This is why we're playing here and working for this club, we want to play Champions League and we are playing against one of the best teams in Europe tomorrow and want to show everybody we want to beat this team. Maybe it's not the biggest chance, but if you win the Champions League you can qualify for the Champions League.

"And in order to do that, we have to play two top games against Atletico and, hopefully, at the end of those two games proceed to the next round.

"It's about getting the right result and in the last two games we rewarded ourselves with three points in both games and this is what will be important for the future for the Champions League games against Atletico and the upcoming Premier League games. It's not about playing well for 45 or 60 minutes, which we did also in the games before those two games but it's about getting the result."

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.