EARLY TEAM NEWS FOR UNITED'S ROSTOV TRIP
Manchester United will fly to Russia on Tuesday for a Europa League Round of 16 first-leg game against FC Rostov and Jose Mourinho will be without at least one first-team player.
The Reds' summer signing from Villarreal, Eric Bailly, must serve the suspension that he earned when he was shown the first yellow card in last month’s 1-0 Round of 32 second-leg win at Saint-Etienne. He was later sent off in that fixture following a second bookable offence and is therefore one booking away from a further one-match ban.
The Ivory Coast international was notably not included in United’s squad for the Premier League draw against Bournemouth on Saturday, when Phil Jones and Marcos Rojo started at centre-back.
It also remains to be seen whether Henrikh Mkhitaryan is fit enough to travel to Russia. The Armenian has not featured since picking up an injury in United’s last Europa League match, in France at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, when he scored the game’s only goal before exiting the action during the first half. He duly missed the EFL Cup final and Saturday’s clash with the Cherries.
Speaking to MUTV on Friday, Mourinho suggested his former Borussia Dortmund player might return in the Emirates FA Cup quarter-final against Chelsea next Monday. “He didn’t recover in time for this [Bournemouth] game,” Jose said. “I believe, during the next week, especially for the weekend [ahead of the trip to Stamford Bridge], he will be fine and we don’t have major problems.”
In the same interview, the manager also confirmed Bastian Schweinsteiger has a minor injury and the German was therefore not involved against Bournemouth, but will he board the flight to Russia?
All will be revealed when United’s travelling squad for the Europa League match against FC Rostov is announced on ManUtd.com and @ManUtd on Twitter this coming Tuesday afternoon.
WHO IS REGISTERED TO PLAY IN THIS SEASON'S EUROPA LEAGUE?
De Gea, Pereira*, O'Hara*, Romero, Valencia, Darmian, Fosu-Mensah*, Bailly, Jones, Rojo, Smalling, Tuanzebe*, Blind, Shaw*, Young, Carrick, Herrera, Fellaini, Schweinsteiger, Pogba, Mata, Lingard, Mkhitaryan, Martial, Rashford*, Rooney, Ibrahimovic.
* indicates ‘List B' players.
WHAT IS A 'LIST B' PLAYER?
UEFA states: "A player may be registered on List B if he is born on, or after, 1 January 1995 and has been eligible to play for the club concerned for any uninterrupted period of two years since his 15th birthday (players aged 16 may be registered if they have been registered with the club for the previous two years)."