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Early team news for United's trip to Watford

Adam Bath
by
Adam Bath
Wednesday 12 September 2018 07:57

The first international break of the 2018/19 season is over and it's time to focus again on domestic matters, with Manchester United back in Premier League action at Watford on Saturday.

Club managers around the world will be waiting to see whether their players return unscathed and there are question marks over at least two of our men ahead of the trip to Vicarage Road.

Jose Mourinho could be without Luke Shaw, who sustained a head injury in England's UEFA Nations League match against Spain at the weekend. Some reports suggest the left-back will be obliged to serve a mandatory seven-day concussion period of absence, though this has not been confirmed.

Shaw has enjoyed a bright start to the season for United, picking up the Goal of the Month and Player of the Month awards for his performances in August, and will be assessed by United's medical staff before any decisions are taken. After the trip to Watford, the Reds' next fixture is away to Swiss side Young Boys in the Champions League on Wednesday.

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Marouane Fellaini sustained a minor back problem while training with the Belgium squad and returned to the Aon Training Complex after being ruled out of his side's matches against Scotland and Iceland. It is a setback for the towering midfielder who starred in United's victory against Burnley before the international break. Phil Jones had to miss that game through injury.

Aside from the injuries to Shaw and Fellaini, it has been a positive international break for Mourinho's men. The manager was in attendance at Wembley to see Marcus Rashford score for England against Spain, from Shaw's assist, and the same striker grabbed the winner in last night's 1-0 win over Switzerland at Leicester City's King Power Stadium. Romelu Lukaku netted for Belgium in their friendly win over Scotland and then bagged a double as they won 3-0 away to Iceland in the Nations League.

David De Gea, Paul Pogba, Nemanja Matic, Scott McTominay, Eric Bailly, Victor Lindelof, Fred and Brazil debutant Andreas Pereira all featured for their national sides, while Chile forward Alexis Sanchez chose to stay in Manchester to work on his fitness. Meanwhile, Sergio Romero was an unused sub for both of Argentina's games.

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In a recent United Review interview, Alexis Sanchez discussed his immense pride when representing Chile.

DEBUT COMING FOR DALOT?

Summer signing Diogo Dalot joined Romero in playing for the Under-23s against Stoke City before the break, as the pair stepped up their recoveries from knee problems that forced them to miss the Reds' pre-season friendlies.

Dalot tweeted on Monday that he was "getting ready for Saturday", intriguingly hinting that he might be involved with the first-team squad this weekend.

Jose will want as many players as possible at his disposal as a busy end of September looms large. The Reds will play five fixtures over the next two weeks across three different competitions – the Premier League, Champions League and Carabao Cup.

The boss could provide an update on his players' fitness for the clash against the Hornets in his pre-match press conference, which is due to take place this Friday at a time to be confirmed. 

Watford v United kicks off at 17:30 BST on Saturday and you can watch live build-up from 15:30 BST on MUTV.

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