Man Utd team news: At least 6 players to miss Chelsea trip

Manchester United will be looking to break into the top four with a win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday evening.

Red Devils boss Erik ten Hag spoke to the media at his pre-match press conference this afternoon and he’s provided a team news and injury update ahead of the game.

The Dutchman confirmed a blow with the news that Anthony Martial remains on the sidelines this weekend. The Frenchman has missed Man Utd’s last three fixtures due to a back injury that forced him off against Everton earlier this month.

Martial has been given the green light to resume training but ten Hag says the trip to West London to take on Chelsea tomorrow will still come too soon for the attacker.

The 26-year-old’s absence will be sorely felt in the wake of United’s statement confirming that Cristiano Ronaldo won’t be available for Saturday’s clash with Chelsea. The Portuguese superstar has been banished from the squad by ten Hag after storming down the tunnel and refusing to come on as a substitute during last weeks win over Tottenham.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka has stepped up his recovery from a muscle injury after returning to training this week. However, the defender hasn’t featured in several weeks so isn’t expected to be in contention to face Chelsea.

Injury concerns

Ten Hag told ManUtd.com:

“Martial? He was on the [training] pitch, but he’s not available for tomorrow. We have to see how it develops in the coming days.”

“Aaron Wan-Bissaka is back on the pitch, so that’s good news, because we need everyone,”

“We have so may games to cover, so we need a big squad, you need that you can pick players, that you have choice. So I’m happy with that process.”

Elsewhere, Harry Maguire has also been stepping up his recovery from a thigh injury in training but the Chelsea clash is likely to come too soon for him. The same can be said of Brandon Williams as the full-back is also lacking fitness having only recently returned to training from a lengthy absence.

Axel Tuanzebe is still recovering from a serious injury that’s expected to keep him out until December while Donny van de Beek is also still overcoming a muscle problem that hampered him this season.

It means ten Hag is set to be without at least six players for Manchester United’s trip to Chelsea tomorrow. The Red Devils head into the weekend action sitting just one point behind Chelsea in fifth so they can leapfrog their rivals with a win at Stamford Bridge.