Axel Tuanzebe and Luke Shaw are in contention to make their first starts of the season when Manchester United face Swansea City in the Carabao Cup.
Manchester United will continue the defence of their Carabao Cup title on Tuesday when they travel to the Liberty Stadium to take on Swansea City in the Fourth Round tie. But, Jose Mourinho’s pre-match preparations have been hampered yet again as his squad’s injury crisis continues to get worsened.
Defence is the worst-hit area for the Manchester United boss, with Phil Jones the latest player picking up an injury as he hobbled off the pitch against Huddersfield Town, having seemingly sustained a groin injury.
With Marcos Rojo (knee) sidelined for one more week, Mourinho is down to his bare bones as far as his central defensive options are concerned. The manager did say that he is expecting Eric Bailly (groin) to return “next week” in his pre-Huddersfield press conference.
FINALLY A GOOD NEWS!! Bailly & Fellaini are expected to be back in action next week ?? #mufc pic.twitter.com/JY4uNQ2NOe
— MUFC Arena (@MUFCArena_) October 22, 2017
But, while he could be a part of the matchday squad on Tuesday, the Ivorian is likely to be held back till the clutch game against Tottenham on Saturday. Therefore, with just Chris Smalling and Victor Lindelof his options at the heart of defence, Mourinho is expected to delve into his reserves on Tuesday.
Luke Shaw and Axel Tuanzebe were not included in the Manchester United under-23 squad for the Premier League 2 game against Liverpool on Monday. The duo are expected to feature on Tuesday, as is Scott McTominay who was excluded from Monday’s reserve squad as well.
Indeed, with Michael Carrick (calf) Marouane Fellaini (knee) and Paul Pogba (hamstring) at least a week away from returning to action, the youngster’s inclusion could help ease some burden off Nemanja Matic and Ander Herrera. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (knee) is a long-term absentee, and is only expected to return in December.
Meanwhile, Paul Clement has a few injury concerns to deal with as well, with Renato Sanches (thigh), Wilfried Bony (hamstring) and Kyle Bartley (knee) spending time on the sidelines. But, the Swansea boss confirmed that Roque Mesa will start on Tuesday in the wake of comments that he is considering his future.
