Jose Mourinho provided an injury update on left-back Luke Shaw and summer signing Henrikh Mkhitaryan ahead of Manchester United’s clash against Stoke City on Sunday.
Ahead of Sunday’s game against the Potters at Old Trafford, Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho had positive news regarding Shaw and Mkhitaryan. The Portuguese is quoted by the official club website as saying, “Micki is training now with the team. Luke is ill but hopefully he will train with the team too [on Friday]. We are fine in terms of our condition.”
Meanwhile, Phil Jones continues to be on the sidelines with a long-term knee injury and has been ruled out for “more weeks to come”. Captain Wayne Rooney is pushing for a spot in the starting lineup after coming on and making an impact against Zorya in midweek.
Mourinho chose to rest the likes of Ander Herrera and Daley Blind for the Europa League fixture, which is likely to mean a start for the duo against Stoke City. Both players performed admirably against Leicester City in the Red Devils’ previous league fixture, with Blind picking up three assists. The likes of Paul Pogba, Marcus Rashford and Eric Bailly look to have locked down a regular spot in the starting lineup for Jose Mourinho and will expect to start on Sunday.
First-choice goalkeeper David De Gea will be back in goal in place of Sergio Romero, who managed to keep a clean sheet against Zorya on Thursday. Juan Mata impressed against Leicester City last weekend and earned the praise of his manager, who is likely to include him in the starting lineup against the Potters.
Goalkeeper Jack Butland is a crucial miss for Stoke City. The England international is expected to be out for another month, while the midfield duo of Ibrahim Afellay and Stephen Ireland are also long-term absentees.
Joe Allen is a doubt for the game as well, with the former Liverpool midfielder missing training since last week due to a hamstring problem. Republic of Ireland forward Jonathan Walters is returning from an ankle injury and will be available for selection.