Rúben Amorim has issued the latest on Matheus Cunha as three Manchester United players are in doubt of facing Manchester City on Sunday afternoon.
Manchester United resume their Premier League schedule this weekend, with Rúben Amorim taking his side into a derby clash against Manchester City.
Neither United nor City have started strongly. Amorim’s men have collected a win, a draw and a defeat from their first three matches, while Guardiola’s side sit 13th after also picking up just three points.
The upcoming derby presents a vital opportunity for both teams to shift the momentum of their season and add to their rivals’ frustrations in this unpredictable opening spell.
The last encounter at the Etihad ended in late drama, as goals from Bruno Fernandes and Amad sealed a remarkable 2-1 comeback victory for United shortly before the new year.
Amorim issues United injury updates
Although United recorded their first victory of the season against Burnley and despite the pandemonium that erupted from Fernandes’ last-minute winner, United were hit with a blow as they lost Mason Mount and Matheus Cunha due to injury in the first half.
A week later, while on international duty, Diogo Dalot had to exit the Portugal camp early, complaining of a muscle problem.
Speaking on Friday afternoon ahead of the derby, Amorim provided the latest on all three players, confirming that the trio will not play.
“They are out for this game. I don’t know how long it is going to take,” he said. “We need those guys to be a very competitive team, but we have very good players [who] are eager to play.
“So we will be competitive on Sunday, but they are out. They cannot help us in this game”
When asked on a timeline, he replied: “I don’t want to say. If you talk to Cunha outside, he will say he can play this game. They are pushing really hard.”
United otherwise unscathed amid injury return
Aside from the aforementioned trio, United managed to survive the international break relatively unscathed.
Noussair Mazraoui made his first appearance of the season in a fantastic cameo against Burnley, and as he was not called up for Morocco, he has had two weeks to continue working on his fitness.
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Benjamin Šeško also looks to be getting up to speed after a disjointed pre-season, having played 90 minutes twice with Slovenia and reported returned to Carrington a day early to get a jump-start on preparations for the trip across Manchester.
Meanwhile, Lisandro Martínez has continued to rehabilitate from his serious knee injury back in February, and is expected to rejoin first-team training in the coming weeks.
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