Manchester United interim boss Ralf Rangnick has confirmed he will be without at least six senior players for Thursday’s crunch clash with Chelsea.
The Red Devils welcome the Blues to Old Trafford aiming to just about keep their push for Champions League football alive. Rangnick’s men sit sixth in the Premier League table, six points off the top four with just four matches of the season still to play.
Having fallen to Liverpool and Arsenal over recent weeks, another defeat appears all but certain to end their hopes of securing a Champions League place for next season once and for all. In an alarming blow, the Red Devils will have to take on Chelsea without a number of key players after Rangnick confirmed United’s injury list is looking lengthy ahead of the game.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, he said: "Fred is unfortunately not yet available, he tried to train yesterday but after training, I had a long conversation with him and he just told me he is still not fully fit, he is not 100 per cent.
"With a player like Fred, who is always committed to give his very best, it doesn't make sense with a muscular injury to play him too early because that we would take the risk of re-injury and this is something I don't want to do. Apart from that, Harry Maguire is not available tomorrow, he has some issues with his knee, not a big thing, some niggles in his knee. He didn't train yesterday and today.
"Paul [Pogba], obviously, Fred, Edinson [Cavani], Luke Shaw [are all out] and Jadon [Sancho] is ill - he has had tonsillitis since yesterday. He couldn't train today and won't be available tomorrow.”
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Elsewhere, Rangnick admitted the Red Devils could also potentially be without defender Aaron Wan-Bissaka. The former Crystal Palace man is set to undergo a late fitness test ahead of Thursday’s showdown.
Rangnick added: "We have quite a few players missing tomorrow and one or two still with question marks. We will have to wait and see tomorrow to see if Aaron Wan-Bissaka can be available."
This means the Manchester United side to face Chelsea will require at least one change from the team that was defeated by Arsenal, with Sancho dropping out through illness. Marcus Rashford appears to be the most likely candidate to replace the former Borussia Dortmund star but he has only started three of the last ten Premier League games he has been available for.
The 24-year-old has endured a poor season in front of goal having netted just five strikes in all competitions. His most recent goal came all the way back in mid-January.
Meanwhile, Rangnick declared he will pick a side capable of picking up three points against the Blues. "We will try to play the best possible team of those players that are available. Right now, it seems we have 14 in our professional team without the youngsters that are available and probably three or four of those young players will be part of the squad," the German said.
