Ashley Young is in contention to feature against Newcastle United, but the likes of Marcos Rojo, Jesse Lingard and Ander Herrera remain unavailable, Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho revealed ahead of Saturday’s Premier League clash at Old Trafford.
Young, who is one of United’s vice-captains, was missing from the side that drew 0-0 at home with Valencia in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday with a small issue.
“No, it’s exactly the same (squad). No new injuries and the players who were injured (are still out) with the possibility of Ashley Young coming back to the squad but Ashley was really a minor situation,” Mourinho told MUTV on Friday.
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United go into Saturday’s match winless in their last four games (all competitions), but can take solace from the fact that the Magpies seem to be in a rut as well.
The fact that the Red Devils had a continental fixture in midweek while their domestic opponents didn’t has led many to claim that perhaps Mourinho’s men won’t be fresh, but the manager doesn’t see it that way.
“(We have had) recovering time for the players that played against Valencia and good work for the others that obviously were in perfect condition to train,” the Portuguese tactician insisted.
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United are currently 10th in the Premier League table and are under a lot of pressure heading into the final club game before the second international break of the season.
“Today (Friday), the third day (since the Valencia game) is the first day we have all of the players together and three days in between matches is more than enough time to have the players ready for the weekend match.”
According to several media reports, if Rafa Benitez’s side can script an upset, Mourinho could get the sack and be replaced by Zinedine Zidane.