Jose Mourinho has no fresh injury concerns to deal with as Manchester United welcome Leicester City to Old Trafford on Saturday.
Manchester United will be bidding to maintain their perfect start to the season and keep a firm grip on top spot in the Premier League when they play hosts to Leicester City at Old Trafford on Saturday.
Jose Mourinho has only positives to give when it comes to his team news updates for the weekend. The Manchester United boss has no new injuries to report this week, and is inching closer to boasting a clean bill of health.
In fact, Luke Shaw (foot) and Ashley Young (knee) have already rejoined full training, and have played for the under-23 side this week as well. While Shaw featured twice – against Swansea City and Tottenham – Young made an hour-long appearance against the Swans on Monday.
“I think they are back to their normality & for me, their normality is a very difficult match for us tomorrow,” says the boss on Leicester. pic.twitter.com/lvtTx8LGsG
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) August 25, 2017
However, the duo are likely to be eased into the first-team action by next month, and are not expected to make the matchday squad this week. Marcos Rojo (knee) will return to action earlier than anticipated as well, having rejoined training as well this week.
The Argentine defender, though, has only started light drills, and is still several weeks away from making an appearance. Meanwhile, there’s a new addition, albeit a familiar face, to Mourinho’s squad, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic signing a new one-year contract with Manchester United.
However, the Swedish striker is still undergoing rehabilitation from a long-term knee injury, but has stepped up his recovery impressively. While there’s no official word about his return, reports suggest that he could be back in action within the next two months.
Providing the update on the players who are sidelined during his pre-match press conference, the Manchester United boss said that Young will return before Shaw, while he will give Rojo ample time to recover completely from his long-term injury, with a due date set for December.
“Young will be earlier than Luke,” Mourinho said before providing an update on Rojo. “Again, there is no rush. When I see him run, I like it. It doesn’t look like somebody with an injury. We have to respect the timings and the timings are bringing Marcos to the team around December, not before.”
Jose confirms @Ibra_official will not be ready for the @ChampionsLeague group stage. “I don’t think there will be any chance of that.” #MUFC pic.twitter.com/4GRkhg03HU
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) August 25, 2017
When asked about Ibrahimovic’s potential return date, Mourinho remained coy, only maintaining that the Swede will likely play no part in the Champions League group stage. “He will not be ready for the group phase of the Champions League,” he said.
“I don’t think there will be any chance of that. I don’t want to think about it. I don’t even ask, I don’t speak with him about it, I don’t speak with the medical team about it. I just think he will be an extra man for us in the second part of the season.”
Meanwhile, Vicente Iborra (groin) remains the only man on the treatment table at Leicester, with the likes of Danny Drinkwater (thigh), Kelechi Iheanacho (toe) and Robert Huth (foot) returning to first-team training this week.
The trio, though, are unlikely to make the trip to Old Trafford. But, Wes Morgan and Jamie Vardy are expected to shrug off their respective knocks to start on Saturday. However, Harry Maguire is doubtful for the match after sustaining a minor knee injury on Tuesday against Sheffield Wednesday.
