Early team news for crucial Brugge clash
Several Manchester United players could make their European comebacks on Thursday night, when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men host Club Brugge in the second leg of our UEFA Europa League tie.
Scott McTominay, who hadn’t featured for almost two months and didn’t make it on last week’s trip to Belgium, came on as a substitute during our 3-0 win over Watford on Sunday.
Assuming he got through that 10-minute cameo unscathed, he could be in the manager’s thoughts for Thursday's game at Old Trafford.
Another player who missed our 1-1 first-leg draw at the Jan Breydel Stadium is Mason Greenwood. That was through illness, yet this time the Reds are waiting for news on the youngster’s fitness, after he limped off with cramp shortly after scoring our third goal against the Hornets.
Axel Tuanzebe, who hasn’t played since mid-December, was pictured in training last week, as he continues his recovery from a thigh problem.
Tuanzebe joined fellow defenders Tim Fosu-Mensah and Phil Jones in being left at home for the short trip to Brugge.
Angel Gomes, James Garner and Tahith Chong all featured for United during the Europa League group stages, but they took part in an Under-19s friendly against Brugge’s youngsters hours prior to the first-team match, and were therefore unavailable for the first leg.
Solskjaer could provide a more detailed update on some of the players mentioned above when he sits down in front of reporters at the Aon Training Complex for his pre-match press conference on Wednesday afternoon.
Highlights: Club Brugge 1 United 1
Watch both goals and all the key moments from our first leg in Belgium...
Three Reds will definitely be missing for Thursday’s clash. Marcus Rashford is expected to remain on the sidelines for another few months, after suffering a stress fracture to his back last month while Paul Pogba is still recovering from his January ankle operation.
Meanwhile, goalkeeper Lee Grant is out for the next two to three months, having undergone surgery in early February.
The good news is that none of United’s players are currently sitting on a Europa League suspension. The threshold for missing a game is three yellow cards, and none of our current side has picked up more than one so far.
CLUB BRUGGE TEAM NEWS
Brugge's goalscorer from the first leg Emmanuel Dennis hasn't travelled, while central midfielder and captain Ruud Vormer is also out for the visitors, with a knee injury.
The Belgians will be missing Colombian midfielder Eder Balanta, who picked up a one-match European suspension after being booked in the first leg.
Youssouph Badji and Ignace Van der Brempt missed the 1-1 draw with United at the Jan Breydel Stadium through injury and have not yet recovered, but Krepin Diatta is back in the travelling squad.
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