Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer on Tuesday gave an injury update on Paul and Diogo Dalot, both of whom have remained on the sidelines for an extensive period of time.
Speaking in a pre-match press conference before United’s Football League Cup quarter-final against Colchester United on Wednesday, Solskjaer hinted that Dalot could be in line for a return while Pogba’s comeback is still in a delayed mode.
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“Maybe Diogo after he’s had a week of training, but probably no one else,” Solskjaer was quoted as saying in a statement on the official website of Manchester United.
Dalot has been out of action since October after making only three first-team appearances this season. His last game was against Newcastle United over two months ago.
Addressing the injury of Pogba, the United manager said, “Of all things, he’s now struck down with illness and he’s been off for two or three days. That’s not beneficial and that’s probably set him back quite a bit.”
“As I’ve said so many times, Paul is a top player that we want to see playing his best football at Man United. We just need to get him match-fit. He might be half an hour, 45, 60, 90 minutes – who knows – in the first game. We’re working hard to get him back, but now he’s il,” the Norwegian added.
Like most of the Premier League clubs, United, too, have a busy festive schedule ahead of them. Talking about the need to rotate players in the squad, Solskjaer said he will field a second-string side against Colchester and expects them to win against a League Two team.
“We’ve got a squad and we’ve got to rotate. We did that on Thursday (against AZ Alkmaar) and we’re going to make changes again because there are so many games,” the 46-year-old manager said.
“I think that the team we’re going to put out is strong enough to win the game. At home, against a League Two team, you’re big favourites and you’ve got to expect that,” he added.
