Erik ten Hag has given a positive update on the state of Manchester United’s squad ahead of facing Newcastle on Sunday, allaying fears over Marcel Sabitzer and Raphael Varane.
The Red Devils will be without the suspended Casemiro for the trip to St James’ Park and there were fears Sabitzer might not be able to fill in after he missed Austria’s win over Estonia last Monday after picking up a knee problem.
Varane, meanwhile, was suffering with a small injury prior to the international break that ruled him out of United’s FA Cup win over Fulham.
But both players appear to have a clean bill of health, with Ten Hag confirming he has no new injury issues to deal with while Christian Eriksen is continuing to ramp up his recovery.
‘It’s quite positive about all of the players,’ Ten Hag told MUTV.
‘Christian Eriksen is back on the pitch, not yet in the team training but I expect him in the coming week, [or] weeks, back in team training so will be available for games again.
‘So we know how big an impact Christian Eriksen had on our game, but also others, like Anthony Martial, are also returning in team training.
‘And [there were] no injuries, luckily, from the internationals. That’s always a concern as a manager when the players leave you, how you get them back and, especially, in this stage of the season when it comes to the end, to the final stage.’
Marcus Rashford did not link up with the England squad during the international break after suffering a toe injury, but he has taken part in full training since returning from a holiday to the United States.
Asked if United’s top scorer will be fit to take on Newcastle, Ten Hag replied: ‘I think so.
‘He returned back into the team training on Friday so we are quite positive that he’s available for Sunday. So, of course, we are happy with that because he’s a very important player for us.’
Backup goalkeeper Tom Heaton, meanwhile, will miss the trip to St James’ Park with an ankle problem, while Alejandro Garnacho and Donny van de Beek are both out.
Casemiro is suspended after picking up a red card against Southampton at the start of last month and will also miss matches against Brentford in midweek and Everton next weekend, before returning for the first leg of United’s Europa League quarter-final tie with Sevilla.
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