Solskjaer gives update on Fred absence
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has revealed why Fred missed Manchester United’s 3-1 win over West Ham United on Saturday.
The boss confirmed the Brazilian, who was sent off during our midweek Champions League defeat to Paris Saint-Germain, has not sustained an injury and is being saved ahead of the busy fixture schedule later this month.
United play RB Leipzig and Manchester City next week, before games with Sheffield United, Leeds, Everton, Leicester and Wolves to see out 2020.
Ole's post-match press conference Video
Ole's post-match press conference
Hear what the boss told journalists after our excellent victory over West Ham...
"No, Fred's not injured. He's getting ready for the rest of the season,” Ole told reporters in his post-match press conference.
“We have a long season and today it was a tactical decision to go with more height. We needed height and Paul [Pogba] and Scott [McTominay] and Nemanja [Matic] were the three midfielders I brought down in the squad.”
Squad rotation and giving players time to rest is clearly at the forefront of the boss’s mind, ahead of what is going to be a hectic period during the rest of the month.
“We have a long season and today it was a tactical decision to go with more height. We needed height and Paul [Pogba] and Scott [McTominay] and Nemanja [Matic] were the three midfielders I brought down in the squad.”
Squad rotation and giving players time to rest is clearly at the forefront of the boss’s mind, ahead of what is going to be a hectic period during the rest of the month.
This was evident with Ole’s team selection for the West Ham win, when he opted to start with Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford on the bench in preparation for Tuesday’s crunch Champions League game against RB Leipzig.
"I think this season is going to be such a long and hard one that when players get niggles and injuries... He [Bruno] has been kicked so many times in the last few weeks so I didn't want to use him from the start,” said Ole.
“We’ve got a big game on Tuesday. We’ve got a good squad with lots of quality and talent out there, so we decided to go for the starting XI that we did."
"I think this season is going to be such a long and hard one that when players get niggles and injuries... He [Bruno] has been kicked so many times in the last few weeks so I didn't want to use him from the start,” said Ole.
“We’ve got a big game on Tuesday. We’ve got a good squad with lots of quality and talent out there, so we decided to go for the starting XI that we did."
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