Harry Maguire has been ruled out of Manchester United's last three Premier League games of the season with ligament damage but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is hoping he will recover for the Europa League final against Villarreal.
The United club captain hobbled off in the win over Aston Villa at the weekend and was wearing a protective boot and on crutches as he sat in the stand as the Red Devils lost to Leicester on Tuesday night.
Solskjaer’s side have three league games left, with Liverpool at Old Trafford on Thursday followed by Fulham at home on Tuesday and the final game of the campaign away to Wolves.
What has been said?
Solskjaer said: “The good news is it wasn’t broken, there was no fracture, but a ligament injury is serious. If I'm very positive that is maybe stretching it, I'm hopeful he might be ready for it (the Europa League final).
“I don’t think he’ll play in the league again but we'll do everything we can to get him ready for the final.
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“You always try to look after players long-term. If he’s fit he’ll play for us, if he's not he won’t. We're hopeful he's ready and if he’s ready for us he’ll be ready for the Euros.”
What is the team against Liverpool likely to be?
Solskjaer made 10 changes from the side that beat Aston Villa to the one that started against Leicester, with just two days between the games.
And, with only one day’s rest between Leicester and the Liverpool game, expect there to be a similar amount of changes again.
“There’ll be changes, of course, but many of the players that played did really well, so they're in contention as well,” Solskjaer said.
“It's about managing the squad now, building momentum and confidence, making sure we get enough points to get second and then going into the final confident.”
What else was said?
After United lost to Leicester, having made 10 changes, there were plenty of Liverpool supporters who were complaining about the team Solskjaer fielded.
The result put a big dent in Liverpool’s top-four hopes but Solskjaer said the criticism is of no concern to him.
He said: “My job is Man Utd and my concern is the Man Utd fans, what they think about my team, what they want from my team and that we come together as one and show what Man Utd is.”
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