Marc Skinner provided a fitness update on two Reds, following Manchester United Women’s exhilarating 2-1 victory over Paris Saint-Germain at Old Trafford in the UEFA Champions League.
Skinner made five changes to the side for the visit of the Parisians, with the most noteworthy coming in goal.
Phallon Tullis-Joyce, who had been an ever-present in the line-up this term, was absent from the squad, giving Safia Middleton-Patel the chance to shine in front of a 14,667-strong crowd.
After the match, the boss gave an explanation to the press: “She took a knock against Villa, I think we’ve got an assessment tomorrow [Thursday].
“She had a little bit of irritation today, so it was just making sure that she’s safe and healthy.
“We’ll assess her again tomorrow and see where she’s at for the weekend and going into Wolfsburg.
“It’s in her face, so we’re just getting it checked. She’s okay, it wasn’t a concussion moment or anything like that. So we’re just checking it and we’ll update you going into the Man City game.”
Several players went down with cramp during the game, with Anna Sandberg bravely battling to complete the 90 minutes.
Melvine Malard, who scored a brilliant opening goal at the Theatre of Dreams, was withdrawn for Elisabeth Terland during the second half, but Skinner – asked if the France international was okay – doesn’t believe it’s a lasting issue.
“I believe so. She's smiling at the end,”
he added.
“It's a quite a firm pitch Old Trafford, so it kind of just pushes your muscles a little bit differently.
“So where we tend to have soft ground now, because of the weather, it's a little bit firmer because it drains really well, so probably just overexerted that a little bit.“
Another big game is on the horizon for the Reds, as we travel to the Etihad Stadium to face Manchester City on Saturday (13:30 GMT kick-off).