-
Rob DawsonCorrespondent
Ralf Rangnick is hopeful of having Harry Maguire available for the trip to Aston Villa on Saturday despite the Manchester United captain fighting to recover from an abdominal injury.
Maguire has missed United’s last two games but Rangnick said there is a chance he will be fit to feature at Villa Park.
– Man Utd vs. Aston Villa: Stream replay on ESPN+ in the U.S.
– ESPN+ viewer’s guide: Bundesliga, Serie A, MLS, FA Cup and more
– Dawson: McTominay shines in another uneven Man Utd showing
The German will be without suspended pair Scott McTominay and Luke Shaw while Paul Pogba remains sidelined.
Diogo Dalot needed stitches after suffering a gash to his ankle during the first half of the 1-0 win over Aston Villa in the FA Cup third round on Monday night but sources have told ESPN the full-back is hopeful of being available to face Steven Gerrard’s side for the second time in six days at the weekend.
Jadon Sancho and Cristiano Ronaldo were also missing from the squad against Villa because of muscle injuries. Dean Henderson was absent because of a slight illness but is now back in training.
“We had two centre-backs available [against Villa], all the other ones were injured,” Rangnick said.
“Hopefully for the away game at Villa on Saturday we will also have a few other players available, including Harry as the centre-back that will give us more options. Phil Jones will hopefully be fit again for the game on Saturday.”
Meanwhile, Rangnick has backed Marcus Rashford to get back to his best after the England international endured a disappointing night against Villa.
The 24-year-old hasn’t scored since the 3-0 win over Tottenham in October and the United interim boss said he could do with a goal to boost his confidence.
“He is trying hard,” Rangnick added. “He is in training, he was doing really well in the last couple of days, that’s why he was quite rightly in the starting XI [against Villa].
“I think in the first half we found him quite often, we also tried to get him into the box, in the second-half that was not often the case and that’s why at the end of the game I decided to make two changes with Anthony Elanga and Jesse Lingard.
“For strikers it’s important that they score goals on and off, that there are moments of success, of course it would be good for Marcus if he could score a goal but as long as he is trying, as long as he is training well I don’t see much of a problem.”
