Paul Pogba Among 6 Man Utd Fitness Doubts Ole Gunnar Solskjaer Will Discuss This Week
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is expected to provide fitness updates for as many as six players at the end of this week ahead of the visit of Leicester to Old Trafford on Saturday, following the conclusion of the international break.
Eric Bailly and Timothy Fosu-Mensah are known longer term absentees, but Paul Pogba, Anthony Martial, Luke Shaw, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Jesse Lingard and Diogo Dalot have all been cause for concern for various reasons and currently remain doubts for the Leicester game.
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Pogba was forced to miss international duty with France as a result of a twisted ankle he suffered in the 1-1 draw against Southampton last month, while Anthony Martial was ruled out of contention for the world champions because of a thigh problem against Crystal Palace.
Both are, however, expected to back when the Premier League resumes this coming weekend.
Speaking at the end of August, Solskjaer had targeted Leicester for Martial’s comeback, while Pogba’s ankle problem has only been a minor concern. The United boss had still expected Pogba to link up with France, so his withdrawal appears to have been precautionary.
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At the same time as addressing the Martial injury last month, Solskjaer admitted that it might take Shaw a week or two longer to fully recover from the hamstring problem that prematurely forced him out of the Crystal Palace defeat two-and-a-half weeks ago. It will, therefore, be interesting to hear if there has been any change in the recovery timeframe in the last 10 days.
Wan-Bissaka had been called up to the senior England squad for the first time as a result of his impressive start to the season, only for a back injury to force him to withdraw.
Lingard, whose inclusion in the Three Lions squad was defended by manager Gareth Southgate, missed England training on Friday ahead of the Euro 2020 qualifying win over Bulgaria as a result of illness and subsequently pulled out of the squad to return to Manchester.
It was confirmed earlier this week that Dalot has been in China to see a specialist about the hip injury that has ruled him out since pre-season. The Portuguese full-back has now finished 10 days of treatment in Shanghai after flying out at the end of August.
It remains to be seen what point Dalot might be fit enough to be considered for selection.
Solskjaer will field injury and fitness questions at his pre-match press conference on Friday.
