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Manchester United are facing an injury crisis as they enter the crunch stage of their season.
Centre-back pairing Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez both left he midweek draw with Sevilla early, due to respective injuries.
Martinez will miss the rest of United’s campaign with a broken metatarsal, with Varane still awaiting an official diagnosis.
However, the Frenchman certainly won’t be ready for the weekend trip to Nottingham Forest, leaving Erik ten Hag short of options in the heart of his defence.
On top of this, Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho, Donny van de Beek, Luke Shaw, Scott McTominay and Donny van de Beek are still absent from the squad.
Ten Hag is hopeful to have Shaw and McTominay back for the trip to Nottingham but as reported by the Manchester Evening News, neither were present in today’s preparation training session.
The boss will be hoping Shaw, in particluar, will be ready for the weekend, given his two first choice centre halves are missing.
Victor Lindelof and Harry Maguire look sure fire starters at centre-back but Shaw has deputised there to good effect at times this season.
Whether he plays in the middle or in his natural left back role, Shaw’s quality and experience will give Ten Hag a major boost.
McTominay would also bolster the options in midfield with United needing all hands on deck to navigate the jam-packed April schedule.
United have looked vulnerable without the presence of Varane and Martinez but will have to find some steel without the duo for the bulk of the remaining campaign.
Club captain Harry Maguire has been desperate for a run of games in the side and now has his chance to prove he has what it takes to continue his career at Old Trafford.
United face a mammoth nine days, with the Forest game followed by the trip to Seville for the deciding leg of the Europa League quarter-final, before returning to Wembley for the FA Cup semi-final, against Brighton.
