Manchester United have reportedly traveled to London without six first-team players as they prepare to face Watford at Vicarage Road on Tuesday.
Manchester United will be aiming to close the gap on Manchester City to five points when they face off against Watford at Vicarage Road on Tuesday. Ahead of the Gameweek 14 encounter, there are some key players missing from the Red Devils’ traveling squad, with six players missing the trip to London.
As per official communication, Jose Mourinho has lost three players due to injuries, with Phil Jones (thigh), Eric Bailly (groin) and Michael Carrick (calf) on the treatment table. In addition to his injury, Manchester United captain Carrick has also recently had a procedure for a heart ailment, he revealed.
While Carrick’s absence has been adequately covered in midfield, Mourinho can call up Chris Smalling, Victor Lindelof and Marcos Rojo in place of his first-choice central defensive partnership, with the latter likely to be on the bench once again on Tuesday.
No punishment from the FA for Romelu Lukaku following the ‘incident’ during the Brighton game. #mufc pic.twitter.com/tuf3vf9GjF
— Full Time DEVILS (@FullTimeDEVILS) November 27, 2017
Meanwhile, Manchester Evening News have reported that three other first-team players have missed the trip to Watford. Luke Shaw, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Marouane Fellaini are the surprise absentees, with no confirmation about the cause of their exclusion.
The absence of Fellaini, in particular, is baffling, with the Manchester United boss hailing him to be one of the most important player’s in his squad, despite his contract standoff with the club. Mkhitaryan, on the other hand, is walking on thin ice after the manager’s recent comments on his struggles.
But, Mourinho has recalled Daley Blind, Matteo Darmian and Jesse Lingard after the trio were excluded from his matchday squad against Brighton. There has been some good news for the club though, with Romelu Lukaku facing no retrospective action for an incident involving Gaetan Bong last weekend.
As far as Watford are concerned, Marco Silva has a number of injury concerns to deal with ahead of the visit of Manchester United. The Younes Kaboul (hamstring), Craig Cathcart (knee), Tommie Hoban (ACL), Isaac Success and Nathaniel Chalobah (both knee) are all on the sidelines and set to miss the tie.
But, the Watford boss can call upon captain Troy Deeney once again, after the English striker completed his three-match suspension.
