Could De Gea return against West Ham?
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says that he will probably not know the composition of his back five for this weekend's match against West Ham until a few hours before kick-off.
The Reds welcome the Hammers to Old Trafford in the Premier League on Sunday, with the game starting at 19:15 GMT, but injury concerns and COVID-related protocols could impact on selection.
We caught up with the boss on Friday, where he answered a series of fan-submitted questions, but the Norwegian also revealed his latest thinking on our growing injury problems, following Anthony Martial's withdrawal halfway through the 1-1 draw with AC Milan.
United v West Ham: Watch Ole's press conference Video
United v West Ham: Watch Ole's press conference
You aren't ready for Sunday's important Premier League match until you've watched the manager's press conference...
Asked whether we could expect the return of any of the Reds currently on the treatment table, the boss told us: “Well, we're still giving them time. I don't know about Edinson [Cavani], Anthony [Martial], Marcus [Rashford] yet. Paul [Pogba] and Donny [van de Beek], no.”
Solskjaer then explained that Victor Lindelof and Eric Bailly are uncertainties for our third game of 2020/21 against David Moyes' men.
“Eric got a niggle towards the end of the game [against Milan] but he should be okay,” said Ole. “Victor was in the squad but is still feeling his back. So I think we're more or less the same.”
Another interesting possibility is the return of David De Gea, who has been in Spain to witness the birth of his child, Yanay, who arrived on Thursday 4 March.
The Spaniard returned to the UK earlier this week, but has had to quarantine to ensure compliance with the relevant COVID-19 rules in the country.
Solskjaer hinted that De Gea's isolation period does end before the game, but said he was unlikely to call upon our no.1 against West Ham just a few hours later.
“David is probably released from his quarantine and isolation with a test on Sunday afternoon maybe,” explained the manager, “so he probably won't make this game.”
Dean Henderson has been doing well in De Gea's absence, and has kept five clean sheets in his last six appearances.
But Solskjaer will doubtless hope he can call on as many senior players as possible for next Thursday's crucial Europa League second leg against Milan, with the tie delicately poised at 1-1.
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