Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim admits he is still in the dark as to whether or not a number of the team’s first-choice defenders will be fit to play in the Europa League final
Ruben Amorim has revealed that several key Manchester United defenders, including Diogo Dalot, are ‘trying really hard’ to ensure they are available for next week’s huge Europa League final against Tottenham.
The Red Devils will lock horns with their Premier League rivals in Bilbao for the chance to salvage their sorry season with a trophy and an unexpected golden ticket to the Champions League after falling well below expectations on the domestic front.
Dalot, Leny Yoro and Matthijs de Ligt are injury doubts for next week, with Yoro coming off in Sunday’s 2-0 home defeat against West Ham. Neither he nor De Ligt were seen in training ahead of United’s clash with Chelsea on Friday night.
When Amorim was pressed for an update on the trio, he admitted that he is unable to say for sure whether or not any of them will be available for next week’s big game.
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“I don’t know if they are going to be available,” Amorim said in a press conference on Wednesday. “We are going to try to push because it’s the final matches and this is a final, you know that. All the players want to play that really bad.
“I don’t know, I think they will not go to Chelsea [on Friday], but we will have a possibility to have some of them for the final.
“Dalot is trying really bad. I don’t want to risk Dalot because, when you start getting one injury, second injury [follows] and it’s a big thing. We cannot have these kinds of problems in our squad. So, we will see, but he’s working really hard to get in the final.”
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While United are sweating on the fitness of several defenders, Tottenham are facing up to the prospect of trying to beat their rivals without one of their most influential attacking figures after Dejan Kulusevski underwent surgery for a knee injury on Wednesday.
Spurs confirmed the news in a statement, which read: “We can confirm that Dejan Kulusevski suffered an injury to his right patella in our Premier League fixture against Crystal Palace last weekend.
“Following further specialist consultation, the midfielder has undergone surgery today and will commence his rehabilitation with our medical staff immediately. We’re all with you, Deki.”
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