Rúben Amorim has confirmed the possible timeline for Noussair Mazraoui’s return from injury, as Manchester United prepare to face Grimsby Town.
After meetings with Arsenal and Fulham in the Premier League, Manchester United begin their Carabao Cup journey with a second-round tie against Grimsby Town at Blundell Park.
United have not featured at this stage of the competition for decades, their 15th-place finish last season meaning they miss out on a direct route to the third round.
Following a 1-0 defeat at Arsenal and a 1-1 draw with Fulham, Rúben Amorim will be eager to see his team register their first win of the campaign after criticism of their early form.
With the game coming just days after their trip to West London, the head coach is expected to rotate his squad and make several changes to the starting side.
Mazraoui could return next week
While Amorim has had most of his key players available to him, there has been an air of mystery surrounding Noussair Mazraoui’s absence.
After playing 45 minutes against Leeds United during pre-season last month, the Moroccan international flew to the United States with the rest of the squad, he has not featured since the tie in Sweden.
After not being part of any squad due to what was initially suspected as a small thigh injury, Amorim has confirmed that Mazraoui could be back to the squad next week.
“No, maybe he is going to return next week, we will see,” Amorim said on Sunday afternoon. “But he’s near, we are just finishing some drills with him to be sure that he’s not going to have another problem.”
Højlund available, but not selected
The only other player who has been away from the squad due to injury is Lisandro Martínez, who has been rehabilitating from an ACL injury sustained in February. All others, such as Rasmus Højlund and Antony, have been absent due to ongoing transfer speculation.
Regarding the Danish striker, Amorim was asked why he had not been in the squad for the last two fixtures and whether he is still considered available for selection.
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Aomrim confirmed that all those are considered available for selection, but he has chosen to omit them, no doubt due to the ongoing speculation surrounding their futures.
“All the players are available,” he continued. “Then we will make the choice to get the best starting XI to win every game.”
Højlund seems to be closing in on a move to Napoli, while Antony continues to wish for a transfer back to Real Betis. Alejandro Garnacho is reportedly a target for Chelsea and may make the move this week, while Jadon Sancho is being linked with clubs across Italy and Turkey.
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