Real Sociedad suffer major Europa League blow as two stars absent from training, another set to return vs Man Utd

Manchester United will face Real Sociedad in the second leg of their Europa League round-of-16 clash this Thursday.

With their position in the Premier League remaining poor, Manchester United’s only hope of success – and European football for next season – lies with winning the Europa League.

Ruben Amorim’s side remain unbeaten in the competition and produced a dominant display against Real Sociedad in the first leg in San Sebastian last week.

However, despite their control, United somehow managed to draw the game 1-1 after a controversial penalty was awarded in favour of Sociedad.

United will host the La Liga outft at Old Trafford this coming week and both sides have injury concerns they are dealing with ahead of the all-important clash.

Two Sociedad stars missing from pre-United training

United are set to be missing Leny Yoro for the game while the fitness of Harry Maguire remains unknown. Manuel Ugarte could return for the game.

Meanwhile, two players were absent from Sociedad’s latest training session which has struck doubt into their potential involvement against United.

According to Mundo Deportivo, neither Luka Sučić or Jon Aramburu were involved in the Spanish team’s training session on Monday afternoon.

Sučić played 88 minutes against United last weekend but the midfielder was absent fro their league game against Sevilla on the weekend due to a knee problem.

Aramburu, on the other hand, came off the bench against United and started against Sevilla, but the right-back reportedly has a foot injury.

Imanol Alguacil could be left without either of those options to face United, but it has also been claimed by Marca that the Spanish club see the return of Martin Zubimendi as a “new signing” for the United clash.

United’s defensive issues for Sociedad clash

The biggest issue for United and Amorim ahead of this game will be the backline. Should Maguire not be ruled fit for the clash, Amorim will have to pick between two less than ideal options.

Ayden Heaven or Victor Lindelöf would be the most likely players to come into the team alongside Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui in the backline.

Lindelöf started his first Premier League game in over a year on the weekend, while Heaven made his debut in the competition.

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Neither option is ideal even though both players looked solid against Arsenal. Fans would probably like to see Heaven although Lindelöf is the safer play for Amorim.

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