Man United injury news – Newcastle hand Erik ten Hag triple boost with Eddie Howe worried

Eddie Howe has handed Erik ten Hag three boosts as Manchester United welcome Newcastle to Old Trafford in the Premier League.

Wednesday evening marks Manchester United‘s final Old Trafford fixture of a poor season—they have won just 12 of their 24 fixtures there this season, lost nine, and drawn three.

With Erik ten Hag‘s squad having been decimated by injuries throughout the campaign, it feels as if, ahead of the FA Cup final against Manchester City next weekend, there are positives to look forward to in the coming days.

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One of which, Ten Hag has confirmed, is the return of Lisandro Martínez to the squad. The Dutch manager explained on Tuesday afternoon that the Argentinian international will be part of the squad that faces Newcastle.

“Licha Martinez, I think he will return in the squad,” he said. “He has now [had] some sessions with us, and we plan for him to be available. This afternoon, [if] everything goes right in the training, he will return in the squad.

Beyond this, Ten Hag also said that they are waiting on the final fitness assessments of Marcus Rashford, Bruno Fernandes, and Willy Kambwala. “For some other players, we have to see. Rashford, Bruno, Willy Kambwala, if they are fit enough,” he said.

Raphaël Varane, although close to a return, will not play against Newcastle. It was announced on Tuesday morning that he will leave United this summer, and he will likely get minutes against Brighton (A) and against Manchester City in the final, but will not play at Old Trafford again.

Anthony Martial is back in training, but there is no sign of the player returning to full fitness, while Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia remain out. Although Amad Diallo was taken off through injury against Arsenal on Sunday, he confirmed it was nothing serious and is expected to be available once again.

For Newcastle United, Eddie Howe has admitted he has multiple attack worries, with major doubts about Alexander Isak and Callum Wilson in the pipeline.

“Alex didn’t train yesterday,” said Howe at his pre-match press conference. “We will see if he trains today. He wasn’t feeling 100 per cent [against Brighton], I think you could see that. We knew on Friday that he was slightly under the weather.

“We haven’t seen Callum yet. We will see if he is available to train today. If not, we will have him for Brentford [on Sunday].”

Nick Pope is hoping to return to first-team action after a long-term injury after making an appearance on the bench last week, although Martin Dubravka is hoping to face his former club.

“Nick is a player who has come back from a serious injury, a big problem to a big area of the body for a goalkeeper.

“He has still been getting his rhythm back from the training work he has been doing. I am really pleased with how he’s looked, and he has continued to improve through training. Every game, I have a decision to make, and that will be another one.”

Beyond this, centre-back Fabian Schar is close to a comeback and may feature, while full-back Kieran Trippier is set to start after appearing as a substitute on Saturday.