Manchester United injury list keeps piling up after two of their stars picked up injuries on international duty. The duo of Romelu Lukaku and Nemanja Matic pulled out of the Belgium and Serbia squad respectively.
This comes after Luke Shaw pulled out of England’s squad while Marcus Rashford is also a doubt for the team’s Euro 2020 qualifier against Czech Republic.
Shaw was expected to start against Czech Republic and Montenegro but dropped out of the squad this week as injuries mount for Gareth Southgate. United are back in action at home to Watford after the international break as they look to restore their place in the top four of the Premier League.
Serbian midfielder Matic had been called up for the upcoming matches against Germany and Portugal. But after being withdrawn late on in the FA Cup defeat to Wolves on Saturday, it has been confirmed Matic won’t play for his country.
“Nemanja Matic will not play in Wolfsburg, nor in Lisbon. He played the last match in the club but did not stay in the field until the end,” Serbia boss Mladen Krstajic said.
United striker Romelu Lukaku also withdrew from the Belgium squad after undergoing an MRI scan on a foot problem. Nevertheless, Lukaku looks set to be ready for Manchester United’s clash with Watford despite pulling out of the squad through injury.
Lukaku missed the 2-1 defeat at Molineux but reported for duty. While the injury is not deemed too serious, he won’t feature in either international matches. Lukaku, who joined United from Everton for £75million in 2017, has been in fine form for the Reds in recent weeks, scoring six goals in his last four games.
But, according to sources in Belgium, his current injury is only likely to keep him out for a week, meaning he should be fit to face Watford at Old Trafford a week on Saturday. However, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has concerns over Anthony Martial ahead of the crunch clash with Watford .
Martial had been in line for his first France appearance for almost a year but pulled out due to a niggling knee problem. He had missed a month recently but returned to the starting line-up at Wolves, only to complain of pains in his right knee at full time.