Four key Manchester United stars have ‘missed full training’ ahead of Sunday’s match versus Liverpool, but this is not as worrying as it seems…
The Red Devils have a rather big game coming up this weekend as they travel to face arch-rivals Liverpool at Anfield.
This encounter has the potential to be a real treat following another dour international break as Liverpool are also desperate for a win, so roll on it being a disappointing damp squib.
Still, the result is all that matters for the two teams as Man Utd look to build momentum following their win over Sunderland to reduce the pressure on head coach Ruben Amorim, while Liverpool are looking to recover from three consecutive defeats.
If Liverpool manages to perform near their best, Arne Slot’s side should have no problem picking up all three points against Man Utd, who have a far inferior team.
But this is far from guaranteed, as Liverpool have shown a severe lack of balance following their £400m+ summer overhaul and most of their top stars are underperforming.
Therefore, Man Utd have a decent opportunity of causing an upset if they turn up at Anfield, so supporters would have had a feeling of dread upon hearing that Bruno Fernandes, Matheus Cunha, Amad Diallo and Casemiro ‘missed full training’ on Thursday.
Certain scaremongering outlets have made it seem that these players have injuries and could miss Sunday’s match, but this is not the case at all.
Instead, Man Utd have purely taken the precautionary measure of making their returns gradual after travelling back to England from international duty.
Manchester Evening News have cleared up this situation, insisting that these players have ‘missed full training on Thursday’ as Amorim ‘granted’ them extra time off.
The report adds:
‘Club sources confirmed that some players who were given additional time off by Amorim still reported to Carrington.
‘However, they completed light recovery work instead of participating in full training.’
Lisandro Martinez will not be available this weekend, though.
The centre-back has spent most of this year recovering from an ACL injury and there have been murmurs that he could be fit enough to face Liverpool, but this game is coming too soon.
The report also noted that he ‘continues to be sidelined’ as ‘his return to a matchday squad is not imminent and staff will not take any risks’.