Boss Confirms Injury Blow For Man Utd But Key Man Declared Fit Ahead Of Liverpool

Belgian boss Roberto Martinez has confirmed Marouane Fellaini has suffered knee ligament damage but there is better news on Romelu Lukaku ahead of Manchester United’s trip to Anfield.

Despite Belgium already being qualified for the World Cup finals next summer, Fellaini was still selected to start their qualifier against Bosnia on Saturday night.

The United midfielder limped off midway through the first half after injuring his knee following a collision and Martinez has now confirmed that Fellaini has suffered ligament damage.

The Belgian manager doesn’t know how long the 29-year-old will be out for but revealed Fellaini is back in Manchester to undergo further assessment with a more precise diagnosis expected over the coming days once the swelling has gone down.

Speaking ahead of Tuesday night’s qualifier with Cyprus, Martinez is quoted as saying by Sky Sports:

“Marouane Fellaini, it has been confirmed that he has got ligament damage. He has gone back to Manchester United.

“It was a very unfortunate injury for Marouane. I don’t think the state of the pitch played any part. A collision between two strong players, very committed that they want to win the ball, and unfortunately Marouane ended with a damaged ligament.”

“Marouane is a very quick healer but obviously now we had the scan and it is damage in the ligament. Damage could be very little or very big.

“I think the next few days, we will have a clear idea of the final state of the injury. The first 48 hours, you have still got the swelling.

“We don’t know at this stage (how long Fellanini will be out for). I think with Marouane, sometimes you expect him to be out, but he is a really quick healer.”

It means Fellaini is certain to miss United’s trip to Anfield on Saturday lunchtime and is facing a spell on the sidelines which will be a huge blow to the Red Devils.

The midfielder has been in fine form in recent weeks and with Paul Pogba and Michael Carrick also ruled out, it looks like Ander Herrera will line-up alongside Nemanja Matic against Liverpool.

However, there was better news for United regarding the fitness of Lukaku as Martinez also confirmed that the striker is considered fit and available for selection.

Lukaku missed the win over Bosnia at the weekend due to an ankle injury which led to speculation suggesting he could be a doubt for United’s clash with Liverpool on Saturday.

But Martinez insists the striker is fully fit and could feature against Cyprus tomorrow night. The Belgian boss is quoted as saying by the Daily Mail.

‘Romelu Lukaku is fit. We are in touch with Man United’s medical team. I haven’t received a phone call from Jose Mourinho as yet.’

No doubt Mourinho will be watching nervously tomorrow night to see if Lukaku comes through the Belgian game unscathed as it would be a huge blow for United if he was to aggravate his ankle problem during a meaningless international game.