Man Utd Match Centre
Man Utd Team News: Mourinho Offers Update On Duo Ahead Of Benfica Clash
Jose Mourinho has offered a team news and injury update ahead of Manchester United’s Champions League clash with Benfica.
Manchester United will look to put one foot in the knockout stages of the Champions League when they take on Benfica in Portugal on Wednesday night.
Ahead of the game, Jose Mourinho has been speaking to the media at his pre-match press conference this afternoon and he’s offered ManUtd.com a team news update.
Marcos Rojo travelled with the rest of the first team squad to Portugal yesterday sparking speculation the defender could be in-line for a shock return to action.
The Argentinean international hasn’t played since damaging knee ligaments last season and wasn’t expected back until November at the earliest after initially being ruled out for at least six months.
Rojo has made an impressive recovery and returned to training last month but Mourinho has confirmed that the defender won’t feature against Benfica tomorrow night.
The Red Devils boss says Rojo only travelled to Portugal to train with the rest of the squad and is still two weeks away from being in contention for a place in the team.
Eric Bailly wasn’t among the travelling party that flew-out of Manchester airport yesterday as he’s still nursing an injury that he sustained while away with the Ivory Coast during the international break.
Mourinho told the clubs website:
“Rojo is not coming to play but he is coming with the team to train today with the group. Tomorrow, individually, but he’s coming [back].
“I would say, probably in two weeks, Marcos is ready to play. There is no Bailly – he was injured in the national team.”
Rojo and Bailly are just two of several players who’re currently unavailable for United as Marouane Fellaini, Paul Pogba, Michael Carrick and Zlatan Ibrahimovic are also still on the sidelines.
With six first team regulars all missing, Mourinho joked with reporters today that they could probably guess the starting eleven he’ll pick for tomorrow’s game.
Mourinho continued:
“I will not tell you the team. Firstly, because the players don’t know yet but, secondly, we have so many injuries, I think that should be something that you can view with almost a guarantee of success because our options are so few that it is easy for you to guess the XI.”
United head in to the game tomorrow having collected six points from their opening two Group A games against Basel and CSKA Moscow so they can move within touching distance of the knockout stages with another win over Benfica.
