Jose Mourinho has told MUTV he does not know if Marcos Rojo can face Bournemouth in the Premier League, due to the head wound the defender received in the Manchester derby.
Rojo suffered a nasty cut to the head in the first half and temporarily left the pitch to receive treatment, before gallantly returning sporting a thick bandage. The Argentina international made it to the half-time break but was taken off by the boss and replaced by Victor Lindelof at centre-back.
Speaking exclusively to MUTV following the pre-match press conference at the Aon Training Complex, Mourinho gave this update on Marcos: “He's a brave guy. I don't know how he is - let's see if he can be ready for the match. But if he's not ready, we have other alternatives to play.”
As Jose then pointed out, our options at centre-back have been boosted: “Phil Jones was already on the bench at the weekend. The injury is behind him and hopefully he can stay fit for the rest of the games.”
Eric Bailly is still unavailable and the Ivory Coast international has not featured for the Reds since the Chelsea game on 5 November. Meanwhile, it is believed that Marouane Fellaini is edging closer to making his own return from injury, although Mourinho did not mention the Belgian midfielder on Tuesday.
Nemanja Matic shrugged off an injury to start against Man City at the weekend and our summer signing is presumed to be fit to face Bournemouth at Old Trafford.
Cherries right-back Adam Smith is available after serving a one-match suspension, but Tyrone Mings is out with a back injury.
"You have to relish playing against United. I always look back to our League Two days and we'd have done anything to put ourselves in these positions."
With regards to the visitors, Cherries boss Eddie Howe can select Adam Smith again after the right-back served his one-match suspension, but Tyrone Mings is unavailable after an injury setback.
Speaking on Tuesday, Howe said: “You have to relish it, I always look back to our League Two days and we'd have done anything to put ourselves in these positions. In the previous two seasons we've got some good results in these games and they've helped to define our seasons, so we're looking for the same again.”
On his relationship with Jose, Howe continued: “He was very good to me last season, I really didn't feel well for our game at Old Trafford. He spoke to me after the game and was very good with me. He's an outstanding manager, his record is second-to-none so I have a lot of respect for him.”