Rúben Amorim has delivered multiple injury updates as Manchester United prepare to face Athletic Club in the Europa League on Thursday evening.
Manchester United return to Old Trafford with one foot in the Europa League final, aiming to finish the job against Athletic Club after a ruthless 3-0 win in the first leg.
Casemiro struck early in Bilbao before Bruno Fernandes added two more to give Rúben Amorim’s side a commanding lead heading into the return leg.
Tottenham Hotspur, meanwhile, take a 3-1 advantage into their second leg against FK Bodø/Glimt, but must navigate a tough trip to the Arctic Circle to book their place in Bilbao.
With United and Spurs languishing in 15th and 16th in the Premier League, the Europa League now represents their last shot at reaching next season’s Champions League.
Amorim delivers De Ligt latest
During United’s last fixture, a 4-3 loss against Brentford, United were dealt an injury blow as Matthijs de Ligt hobbled off after just over 30 minutes amid his first start for the club in over a month.
Initially, Amorim admitted that he was very worried about the player, hinting that he may be out for the rest of the season, but in his pre-match press conference previewing the Europa League semi-final, the head coach explained on Wednesday afternoon that the defender is only certain to miss the next two fixtures.
“It is not a big issue [for De Ligt],” Amorim confirmed to reporters. “That is a good thing. He cannot play tomorrow, and he’ll not play on Sunday [vs West Ham], but then we’ll check day-by-day.”
Amorim also confirmed that, as for the other players who may return, Ayden Heaven and Toby Collyer were not available – although it was noticed that Heaven was undergoing individual training on Wednesday morning.
“The rest, Ayden doesn’t recover,” Amorim said. “Toby is not available, I think that’s it.”
Can Eriksen play against Athletic club?
One piece of news that caught fans off guard on Wednesday morning was that veteran midfielder Christian Eriksen missed training, which was unexpected because he played just 33 minutes as a substitute against Brentford.
However, it has since been confirmed by journalist Rich Fay from the Manchester World that Eriksen’s absence is not a concern and is still expected to be fit to be in United’s squad on Thursday evening.
Meanwhile, United remain without Diogo Dalot, whose fitness is being assessed weekly, while Joshua Zirkzee and Lisandro Martínez are injured for the remainder of the season.
As for the visitors, Athletic Club have been hit with a string of injuries that will leave Ernesto Valverde needing to make significant changes to his side.
Midfielder and top scorer Oihan Sancet missed the first leg and is injured for the second, while Nico Williams and Inaki Williams did not travel with the squad to Manchester.
Centre-back Dani Vivian is also unavailable for selection for the second leg after he was handed a red card for a foul on Rasmus Højlund in Bilbao last week.
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