Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has a number of fitness concerns ahead of Manchester United’s FA Cup tie with Chelsea. Both Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard suffered injuries during the Champions League defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in midweek and are doubtful.
Meanwhile, Alexis Sanchez also was victim of a freak accident when the linesman ran into him during his warm-up and is carrying a knock. Antonio Valencia and Matteo Darmian are ruled out and Marcos Rojo is unlikely to be risked due to a lack of match action, leaving Solskjaer short of options to face the Blues.
The 2-0 reverse against PSG was the first loss since Solskjaer took over at Old Trafford in December, and came at a high price with both Lingard and Martial forced off.
The England international has a hamstring problem while Martial suffered a groin strain, although both were seen arriving at Carrington on Sunday.
Solskjaer initially ruled the pair out for two to three weeks but the Manchester Evening News report the injuries are not as serious as first thought.
Speaking in midweek, the United manager said: “They’re muscle injuries, so we’ll just have to wait a couple of days.”
Meanwhile, Sanchez confirmed his unusual accident to BBC Sport, saying: “The referee’s assistant, when we had a counter-attack, came flying down the line, and I had my foot there and he crashed into me. Bang.
“And I went back to the dugout and I said to Sergio Romero ‘I’ve just been whacked and I’m about to go on’.
“I’ve got bruising but that’s not an excuse for not being on my game in the way that I normally am.”
If fit, Sanchez is expected to start in support of Marcus Rashford and the recalled Romelu Lukaku in attack.
However, Juan Mata is also an option if Lingard, Martial and Sanchez are all unavailable against Chelsea.
Sergio Romero is expected to replace David De Gea in goal while Phil Jones and Chris Smalling are both in contention to feature at centre-back if Victor Lindelof and Eric Bailly are rested.
Luke Shaw is likely to start at left-back but Diogo Dalot will hope to get the nod over Ashley Young on the other flank.
Nemanea Matic, Ander Herrera and Paul Pogba should start in midfield but both Fred and Andreas Pereira are further options for Solskjaer.
