Patrick Rees
Manchester United manager, Jose Mourinho, has revealed the team news ahead of the Derby clash this weekend. There were many doubts regarding the fitness of a couple of players, but the manager has now cleared it out.
The manager told MUTV that “everybody is available” despite concerns over a number of players on international duty, including Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Luke Shaw.
Besides these two, the 28-year-old midfielder Marouane Fellaini will also be available. The Belgian was diagnosed with a back problem soon after the game against Hull City and the manager himself admitted that the problem is a serious one, but he recovered and played 84 minutes for his national side in their 3-0 victory over Cyprus on Tuesday night.
Speaking about the new signing Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who picked up a thigh problem during Armenia’s 3-0 defeat to Czech Republic, the manager said:
“I’m not saying Micki is ready to play 90 minutes but he is ready to help us,” revealed the manager in relation to the Armenia captain. “There are no injuries.”
Furthermore, the Ecuadorian skipper Antonio Valencia has also returned to the Aon Training Complex following his commitments with his national side and might feature in the Derby clash.
“Everybody is available,” Mourinho reiterated. “It’s not the same as if we were here all week and working, resting and not travelling, but there are no injuries and everybody has returned safely and on time for at least one training session. Everybody is ready and wants to play of course.”
