Erik ten Hag has revealed Luke Shaw is still suffering from illness while Scott McTominay is unavailable to face Reading due to a minor injury.
Manchester United come up against Paul Ince's Royals in the FA Cup fourth round on Saturday night as they look to have another successful outing in a cup competition following the 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest on Wednesday. Ten Hag has named a strong side to face the Championship mid-table-dwellers with only one change to his starting XI.
Jadon Sancho is not involved after the Dutchman hinted the winger could make his long-awaited return to action. Shaw and McTominay are also missing but their absences have been explained.
ALSO READ: Manchester United vs Reading LIVE
"Luke is ill and Scott has a small problem so we didn't want to take a risk," he told MUTV. "I hope he can be back on Wednesday but we are not sure."
Though Ten Hag has made a habit of naming strong sides even against weaker opposition, it's still come as a surprise that he has made just one change to face Reading. Captain Harry Maguire has come into the fold following his suspension midweek, replacing Lisandro Martinez. The manager expects him to show the same progress on the pitch he's been making in training.
"I don't know why we shouldn't," he replied when asked about naming a strong starting XI. "We want to win every game so you play a good team, you play a strong selection. But I think we have many more than 11 starting 11 players and I think we can really face this programme in this moment. It's a good team and we're looking forward to this game.
"He [Maguire] did already take his opportunity but he was also ill straight after the World Cup and I should have played him but I couldn't. This is an opportunity and I think he is progressing really well in training, from what I see. I hope he can do the same during the game, I expect that because in the previous games he did."
READ MORE:
