Pranav Nair
Manchester United skipper Harry Maguire has until Tuesday to prove his fitness for the Europa League final
According to Manchester Evening News, Manchester United skipper Harry Maguire has until Tuesday to prove he is fit to take part in the Europa League final.
United take on Spanish side Villarreal in the showpiece event in Gdansk on the 26th of May. With the date fast approaching, Maguire faces a race against time to prove his fitness.
He has not played for the club since getting injured against Aston Villa earlier in the month. The freak injury has put a dampener going into our first major final under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
The Norwegian had earlier raised expectations when he expressed his optimism of Maguire being fit for the Europa League final. However, he backtracked on his comments later in what appears to be closer to the truth.
Our best defender, Maguire’s absence is a major blow for the Red Devils. The Englishman has missed just four Premier League games since joining United, all of which came in the last two weeks.
While Solskjaer has not yet thrown in the towel, he admits the defender has to take part in the final training session to have a chance of playing. Him missing out will see either Axel Tuanzebe or Eric Bailly partner Victor Lindelof in Gdansk.
“He has to train on Tuesday when we’re over there [if he’s to play], it’s not many days and I don’t expect him to be ready.”
Better news elsewhere!
One player who is now back in contention is Daniel James. The Welshman made his return to action at the weekend and put in a decent account of himself against Wolves.
Anthony Martial too is back in training but did not return to action yesterday. Whether he will be deemed fit to take the field against Villarreal remains to be seen.
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While we would love to welcome Maguire back for the final, United should be wary not to rush him back to action. Tottenham Hotspur suffered from a similar fallacy in the Champions League final in 2019 with Harry Kane.
Maguire will also be lacking in match fitness and it is maybe for the best if he does not start on Wednesday.
