Solskjaer provides update on absent United trio

Jesse Lingard and Dean Henderson won’t be involved today, having recently tested positive for COVID-19.

Lingard missed out on last weekend’s 4-0 friendly win over Everton when discovering he had the virus on the eve of the game, while Henderson’s pre-season was affected as he continues to recover from the diagnosis.

But there is encouraging news regarding the pair, Ole has revealed.

“Jesse should be test to release very soon, hopefully he’s got rid of the virus,” says Solskjaer in our interview, released in full today.

“Dean is still feeling a little bit the after-effects so we’ve had to shut him down a little bit and he’ll get going very soon.”

Meanwhile, defender Phil Jones is still working back to full fitness after over 18 months out injured.

He was present during the recent training camp in St. Andrews, Scotland, and has caught his manager’s eye with his determination to get back up to speed.

Solskjaer suggests that he may need some match-time before playing in the first team again, but that everything is going to plan.

“I’m impressed by his resilience in training,” the Norwegian explains. “We have to manage the workload early on.

“I’ve been part of that myself after being out for the best part of a year and a little bit more than that. He’s been so determined and worked so hard.

“Now is not the time to rush things, now is the time to really do the last bit perfectly. As I said, Reserve games, Under-23s, maybe behind closed doors.

“He’s already had in-house games against the 23s so it’s looking good.”

United v Leeds kicks off at 12:30 BST.