Ralf Rangnick will have to cope without four first-team regulars for the game vs Middlesbrough.
Manchester United Football Club continue their FA Cup campaign this evening under the Old Trafford floodlights when they take on Championship side Middlesbrough.
Make no mistake about it, this game will not be easy and United shouldn’t take their opponents for granted. Boro will be coming to the Theatre of Dreams to cause the upset – and they’re more than capable of doing exactly that if we’re not at our best.
Ahead of that clash, Ralf Rangnick gave us the all-important team news. Although a certain Frenchman is set to return, there was some unfortunate news elsewhere.
The gaffer would confirm to the media, including Andy Mitten, that four first-team stars will miss this one for various reasons; Jesse Lingard, Edinson Cavani, Victor Lindelof and Eric Bailly.
First, we have Lingard, who has understandably asked for a few days off in order to get his mind right. The Englishman didn’t get his deadline day move away from Old Trafford – and he’s probably feeling pretty down about that.
Next, Cavani. El Matador was always highly unlikely to feature here as he was going to be jet-lagged regardless. Rather than rush him back, I like the fact that Rangnick has granted him a couple more days to stay at home – giving him a nice morale boost and a bit of extra rest.
This felt like a good chance for Lindelof to get some minutes under his belt, though he’s been suffering with an illness all week and unfortunately hasn’t trained. Hopefully, he’s not kept sidelined for too long.
Then we have Bailly who has an ankle issue. Sadly for the Ivory Coast international, he’s always picking up these little problems, which is why I cannot take him seriously as being in contention to be a regular starter at a top-level club.
Hopefully, all these guys come back soon as we’re going to need them for our season run-in. In the short-term, though, I’d like to think we have adequate replacements.
Would any of these guys have been in contention to start anyway? Let us know your thoughts in the comment box below.
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