Man Utd injury update: Expected return dates for Lingard, Mata, Herrera & more

Manchester United’s injury list is expected to ease over the coming weeks with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer hoping to have a fully-fit squad available after the upcoming international break.

The United boss has been dealing with a lengthy injury list over the past few weeks with as many as 10 players missing for some games but Anthony Martial and Nemanja Matic made their returns during the 2-0 defeat to Arsenal on Sunday afternoon.

Jesse Lingard also returned to light training ahead of the trip to north London at the weekend having been on the sidelines since suffering a hamstring injury during the 0-0 draw with Liverpool on February 24.

The England international is expected to be eased back into full training this week but the Manchester Evening News claim that United won’t rush him back to feature against Wolves in the FA Cup quarter-final on Saturday.

Instead, the newspaper says the 26-year-old attacking midfielder will be saved for the Premier League clash with Wolverhampton Wanderers on March 30, after the two-week international break.

Ander Herrera also resumed light ball-work at Carrington last week after a hamstring and while he wasn’t fit enough to return against Arsenal, the M.E.N claims the Spaniard should be back in contention to face Wolves this coming weekend.

Juan Mata is another player who’s been on the sidelines since suffering a hamstring injury against Liverpool last month but the midfielder is edging closer to making his comeback after taking park in light training last week.

Man Utd’s medical team will keep a close eye on Mata over the course of this week before making a decision over his involvement against Wolves. If he’s not risked, then the 30-year-old should make his return against Watford later this month.

Alexis Sanchez was ruled out for at least four weeks after suffering a knee injury against Southampton on March 2, so the Chilean international could be pushing to make his comeback against the Hornets if his recovery goes smoothly over the next couple of weeks.

Phil Jones has been out with a mysterious illness while Antonio Valencia and Matteo Darmian are working their way back to full fitness following injuries but Solskjaer is hoping to have a fully-fit squad available after the international break.

When asked whether challenging in the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup will force him to prioritise competitions, the Man Utd boss is quoted by the M.E.N as saying:

“No, we don’t have to choose with injuries we’ve had lately. That’s given us a great chance to give players playing time and game-time and they’re coming back maybe for Wolves but after the international break we’ve got a full squad fit and the ones who’ve come in when the regulars have been injured have done really well, so we’ll be ready for that.”

Man Utd are battling for the top four, are through to the quarter-finals of the Champions League and have an FA Cup quarter-final against Wolves to look forward to this weekend so it will be a huge boost for Solskjaer if he gets all his injured players back by the end of the month.