Latest Man Utd team news: Solskjaer sweating on 8 players ahead of Watford clash

Manchester United will look to boost their top four hopes with a win over Watford at Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon. Here is some early team news ahead of the game….

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was announced as United’s permanent manager earlier today but the Norwegian boss has plenty of injury concerns to worry about as he prepares to entertain the Hornets this weekend.

Eric Bailly missed the Ivory Coast win over Liberia on Tuesday after suffering a head injury during the 3-0 victory over Rwanda last weekend so the centre-back will need to be assessed before his availability against Watford is determined.

Nemanja Matic has missed Man Utd’s last four matches due to a muscle problem and was ruled out of Serbia’s games against Germany and Portugal during the international break so he’ll also face a late fitness test.

United are also sweating over the fitness of Luke Shaw after he was forced out of the England squad through injury while Matteo Darmian is still working his way back to full fitness having not featured for the club since mid-January.

Anthony Martial pulled out of the French squad last week due to an on-going knee injury so it remains to be seen whether the forward will be available to face Watford on Saturday afternoon.

In a further concern for Man Utd, Marcus Rashford withdrew from the England squad with an ankle concern so the in-form striker will be checked at Carrington to see whether he can feature this weekend.

Solskjaer’s options in attack could be further limited as Romelu Lukaku sat out Belgium’s Euro 2020 qualifiers with a foot injury that forced him to miss United’s FA Cup defeat to Wolves before the international break.

Alexis Sanchez is still working his way back to full fitness following a knee injury that he sustained against Southampton earlier this month and the Chilean international isn’t due back until late April.

It means Man Utd will need to check on eight players ahead of Saturday’s visit of Watford but there is some positive news for Solskjaer as Antonio Valencia made his playing return with a run out for Ecuador last week.

Ander Herrera, Juan Mata and Jesse Lingard have also returned to full fitness following spells on the sidelines recently and many of the current injury concerns aren’t serious so Solskjaer should have a strong squad to choose from this weekend.