Ruben Amorim does not expect Manchester United’s injured players to return for Sunday’s game against Leeds United, as he prepares to rely on young talent again. Harry Maguire has been out since November 8 with a thigh strain, while Matthijs de Ligt is out for six weeks with a lower back injury.
Coby Mainu has been missing for nearly two weeks with a calf problem, while Mason Mount was dragged out of the boxing match against Newcastle on Boxing Day. Bruno Fernandes remains sidelined after sustaining a hamstring injury against Aston Villa. Meanwhile, United will also be without Nousser Mazraoui, Amad and Brian Mbeumo as Morocco, Ivory Coast and Cameroon have progressed to the finals of the African Cup of Nations.
Amorim admitted there were no new injury concerns within the squad but had little hope of a return ahead of Saturday’s final training session before departure to Elland Road. “There’s no problem. We’ll see tomorrow, but I don’t think anyone will recover,” he said.
United will face in-form Leeds, who are on a six-game unbeaten run following their draw at Anfield on New Year’s Day, despite resting Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Noah Okafor.
Amorim admitted that Daniel Farke’s pace within the squad could pose difficulties for the team. “They have a lot of pace, but sometimes we struggle with pace,” he admitted.
“We’re proving that we can win any game, any situation, any situation. We’re going to do that. I know they’ve changed their system. Last game they rotated two guys who would normally be starters. Good players, good coach.”
Amorim, who recently called up youngsters Jack Fletcher and Bendito Mantat for the game against Wolves, could once again turn to his young reserves despite the expected hostile reception at United.
“We’re looking at everything, but we need to be prepared,” he said. “You look at the team and you can’t develop the players we don’t have. I’m trying to get the team ready to deal with it and read the game to help them.
“They have to be (prepared). It’s a game in a hostile environment, but they have to experience it. It’s going to be difficult for any player, even the most experienced players.”
This will be Amorim’s first visit to Elland Road and his first taste of the rivalry. Despite having experience in similar betting matches in Portugal as a Benfica player and Sporting coach, he expects this match-up to be unique.
“I hear it’s a big derby, a great environment, a great rivalry, but every game in the Premier League is very tough. There’s just one more game to go. I know it means a lot to the fans, but we need to go there and try to win.”
“I’ve never experienced this before. In Portugal[Benfica vs. Sporting]is a big rivalry, the environment is different, the culture is different. There will be a lot of noise, it’s difficult to compare different cultures, different derbies. Let’s just focus on the derby. We will try to win.”
“When you play for Manchester United you have to be prepared for everything. And you have the best league in the world. Every week there are so many draws that you can never control and never understand. It’s going to be tough, but in the Premier League it’s tough every week.”
