Luke Shaw and Wayne Rooney are set to feature for Manchester United against AFC Bournemouth on Saturday, Jose Mourinho has confirmed.
Manchester United return to Premier League action for the first time in three weeks on Saturday, as they play hosts to AFC Bournemouth at Old Trafford. This is the first match for Jose Mourinho’s side since their EFL Cup triumph over Southampton last Sunday.
The Red Devils have rediscovered their best touch and are currently on a six-game winning streak in all competitions. The visitors, on the other hand, haven’t won a game in four and are slipping closer to the drop zone.
The fitness update is largely positive as Jose Mourinho has no injury concerns on his hands and is expected to have a fully fit first team squad at his disposal for Saturday’s fixture. Phil Jones and Henrikh Mkhitaryan are the last two players off the treatment table, even though they may not start or feature on Saturday.
Jose Mourinho has confirmed @LukeShaw23 will feature against Bournemouth at Old Trafford tomorrow. #MUFC pic.twitter.com/rjkfQkM0kz
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) March 3, 2017
Jones has completed his recovery from the foot injury he sustained in the goalless stalemate against Hull City in February. The English centre-back returned to training earlier this week after missing a month of action and declared himself fit for selection on the weekend.
However, he is likely to be eased back into the team instead of being drafted straight into the starting lineup. As a result, the pairing of Eric Bailly and Chris Smalling are set to start at the heart of the Manchester United defence against Bournemouth.
Meanwhile, Mourinho also gave an update on the position of Luke Shaw by confirming that the left-back is all set to feature on Saturday. The England international has started just once in the last three months and has been on the fringes for large parts of the season.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference on Friday, Mourinho said, “[On] Luke Shaw, I have good news for you. He is selected for tomorrow so you don’t need to have the guys at The Lowry [team hotel] to take pictures of who is selected and makes the list because Luke is on the list for tomorrow.”
Mourinho also confirmed that Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney will be part of Saturday’s match day squad with the 31-year-old likely to feature as well. Rooney’s future at Old Trafford has been mired in uncertainty and he has been linked with a move back to Everton in the summer.
