Man Utd boss confirms fresh injury concern ahead of Aston Villa trip

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has confirmed Victor Lindelof is a doubt for Manchester United’s trip to Aston Villa on Thursday night.

Lindelof has been one of Solskjaer’s key players this season having started 30 out of Man Utd’s 33 Premier League games so far and he’s formed a decent partnership alongside Harry Maguire at the heart of their back four.

The Swedish international once again started during United’s win over Bournemouth on Saturday but was forced off at half-time after picking up a back injury during the opening 45 minutes at Old Trafford.

Solskjaer has now told ManUtd.com that Lindelof is a doubt for Thursday night’s trip to Villa Park but thankfully it doesn’t appear to be a serious issue as the United boss says the centre-back will ‘play soon’.

When asked for an update on Lindelof, the Norwegian coach told ManUtd.com:

“Not yet, no. It’s not too bad. He’ll play soon. I’m not sure if he’ll manage the Villa game, but he might do.”

Solskjaer is expected to provide another update on Lindelof’s condition at his pre-match press conference on Wednesday but it looks like the defender could miss out against Aston Villa.

With Phil Jones and Axel Tuanzebe still on the sidelines nursing injuries, Eric Bailly is on stand-by to deputise in defence if Lindelof is ruled out on Thursday night.

Bailly has struggled to force his way into Solskjaer’s first team plans on a regular basis having endured a tough time with injuries this season but he could be given an opportunity to impress against the Villains later this week.

Manchester United head to the Midlands sitting just two points adrift of Chelsea in fifth position in the Premier League table so they’ll be desperate to keep the pressure on their rivals with another win over Villa.