Man Utd team news update: Solskjaer confirms double injury boost ahead of Fulham game

Manchester United will look to secure second position in the table with a win over Fulham at Old Trafford on Tuesday evening.

Ahead of the game, boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been speaking to the media at his pre-match press conference today and he’s provided a team news and injury update including the latest on Anthony Martial, Daniel James and Harry Maguire.

Martial has been on the sidelines since rupturing his knee ligaments while away on international duty with his country in late March and has been forced to miss Man Utd’s last 11 games in all competitions.

However, the Frenchman has been working hard to get himself fit again and Solskjaer has confirmed that Martial is now ready to return to the squad against Fulham – although the forward isn’t fit enough to start the game just yet.

James has also been missing in recent weeks due to a muscle injury but the winger is back in full training and should be named among the substitutes at Old Trafford tomorrow evening. Both James and Martial are hoping to get some minutes under their belt to help them be fully fit for the upcoming Europa League final.

Maguire is also racing to get himself fit for the European clash with Villarreal later this month. The centre-back picked up an ankle injury against Aston Villa earlier this month and has already been ruled out of Manchester United’s last remaining two league games.

However, Maguire has not given up hope of being fit to face Villarreal in the Europa League final. The only other absentee against Fulham tomorrow is Phil Jones as he’s still working his way back to fitness.

Solskjaer told ManUtd.com:

“We had a couple of days off after the Liverpool match and we’ve welcomed Dan James back and Anthony Martial back so that’s big, big plusses for us. We didn’t lose any against Liverpool so we’re fit. We’re only missing Harry and Phil.

“They [Daniel and Anthony] have done all their rehab programmes and ticked all the boxes so a couple of days of training before the game with the team, but they’re not ready to start a game yet. Let’s see. Hopefully, we can get both of them on the pitch and give them some minutes. Let’s see how many minutes against Wolves and then they’re hopefully ready for the final.”

“It’s still too early [for Maguire]. We’re not at the testing stage yet. We’ll give him as much time as possible to recover. We’re not going to see him back in the league so hopefully we can welcome him back for the final. But I’m not sure.”

Manchester United will welcome 10,000 fans back into Old Trafford for tomorrow’s 6pm kick-off as they look to guarantee second position in the Premier League table with a win over the Cottagers.

Successive defeats to Leicester City and Liverpool have left United just four points clear of their nearest rivals with two games to play so victory over Fulham would be enough to secure the runners-up spot.