BEVERLY HILLS, February 25, (THEWILL) – Norwegian manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer of English Premier League is optimistic about the return of Uruguayan veteran forward Edinson Cavani, Scottish central midfielder Scott McTominay and Dutch midfielder Donny van de Beek for the weekend EPL clash against Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea.
After the trio were noticeably absent due to injuries they were nursing in the last three fixtures of the Red Devils, Solskjaer’s side could do with the boost their return will mean for their trip to Stamford Bridge on Sunday especially to provide wide options for United as they scheme to find cracks in the formidable defense-line Tuchel is building up with the Blues.
However, Solskjaer’s optimism is tempered by the continued unavailability of United’s rejuvenated French central midfielder Paul Pogba. The 27-year-old, who was seeing a resurgence of form with United’s climb to the summit of the table last month, will still be unavoidably absent from the squad “for a few weeks” as he continues his rehabilitation from an injury he sustained on his thigh.
Pogba’s last match for United was their 3-3 draw against Everton at the start of February. Though the World Cup winner has returned to training on the grass as part of solo sessions, fans of the Red Devils will not have the pleasure of seeing him for the time being. It was originally believed that Pogba would be back in early March but it seems like his lay-off could be longer than that.
There was more ominous injury on the list to worry the Old Trafford faithfuls. Solskjaer confirmed fears that Daniel James’s injury, which he picked up in the goalless UEFA Europa League draw against Real Sociedad on Thursday night, was enough to make the winger a doubt for the trip to London.
After the match, Solskjaer said sombrely of James: “We will have to check on him tonight,” but expressed his optimism for others. “Scott, Donny, Edinson we hope they can be available for the weekend. Paul is still out for a few weeks.”
United secured qualification to the last 16 of the Europa League with a 4-0 aggregate win over Sociedad. They will discover their next opponents when the draw takes place at midday on Friday but they travel to Stamford Bridge on Sunday for their next tie.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
