Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has confirmed that Spanish midfielder Ander Herrera could be available to feature against Chelsea on Sunday while Chelsea are set to be without influential French midfielder, N’golo Kante. Herrera has missed all six of United’s games so far in April with a hamstring problem and last featured for the Red Devils in the 2-1 win against Watford on 30 March.
However, ahead of the crucial game against Chelsea this weekend, the United boss said Herrera could be in line to return. “There are three games left of the season and Ander has been training, he’s been enthusiastic,” Ole told the assembled media in his press conference. “He’ll probably be involved. I think he’s fit enough to be involved on Sunday. I can’t guarantee it, because there’s still two days left, but he’s trained the last two days.”
The return of the midfielder would be a welcome boost against the Blues – and he even found the back of the net when we last faced Maurizio Sarri’s team, during our 2-0 Emirates FA Cup fifth-round victory in February.
Ole also faced questions about another Spaniard on Friday morning, when he was asked whether he had considered dropping David De Gea on Sunday. “No. Not at all,” the Norwegian responded.
“I trust David and he’s, for me, been the best player United have had in the last six or seven years. He’s been absolutely outstanding and going through tough patches is just part of a footballer’s career. David will be fine, no worries.”
While De Gea is set to feature at the weekend, one man whose involvement is unclear at the moment is Scott McTominay, who missed Wednesday’s loss to Manchester City. “Scott failed a fitness test on Wednesday morning, so he’s going to have another one today [Friday] probably to see if he’s available,” the boss exclusively told MUTV
Chelsea could be without influential midfielder N’Golo Kante for Sunday’s game. The World Cup winner picked up a rib injury in the 2-2 draw against Burnley on Monday, which forced him to be withdrawn at half-time.
It is unclear whether he will be fit enough to feature against the Reds but, should he miss out at Old Trafford, his spot is likely to be filled by either Matteo Kovacic or Ross Barkley, who could feature in a three-man midfield alongside Jorginho and Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
At the back, Antonio Rudiger is unavailable for the Blues and looks set to miss the remainder of a campaign with a knee problem. Prior to the injury he had missed just two league games all season, so his absence will come as a big blow to Maurizio Sarri.
Another player who will sit out the trip to Manchester is exciting young talent Callum Hudson-Odoi. The winger was replaced against Burnley through injury and, on Wednesday, he had surgery on a ruptured Achilles tendon, a problem which it appears will rule him out for the remainder of the 2018/19 campaign.
With star man Eden Hazard likely to start, Sarri could turn to Pedro or Willian to fill the void created on the other flank by Hudson-Odoi’s omission. Gonzalo Higuain was the lone striker against Burnley and could be deployed in a similar role on Sunday.