Support truly
independent journalism
Manchester United could be down to three fit senior defenders for the Community Shield as Erik ten Hag may start the season again short of players at the back.
The United manager has lost his new signing Leny Yoro for three months and has four injury doubts among his defence so he is considering omitting players against Manchester City as a precaution in a bid to prevent them from spending longer on the sidelines.
United were ravaged by defensive injuries last season when Ten Hag named 33 different back fours and now only Diogo Dalot, Lisandro Martinez and Jonny Evans definitely available on Saturday – and even then the Argentina and Portugal internationals returned to training this week after the Copa America and Euro 2024 respectively.
Harry Maguire, who missed the 3-0 defeat to Liverpool in pre-season, and Victor Lindelof, who came off in the game in the USA, are at risk of missing out, along with Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Luke Shaw, who has only started one match since February.
And Ten Hag said: “Harry Maguire is still a question mark for Saturday. We have training. We have to see whether he is fit enough or not to be available. Victor is also a question mark and also Azza [Wan-Bissaka] and Luke Shaw are both question marks. We have to assess them.”
Martinez, who had an injury-hit season last year, could be pressed into service, with Ten Hag saying: “We think about Licha to be involved in the game.
With left-back Tyrell Malacia sidelined for a further two months, 17-year-old Harry Amass might be in contention for a senior debut at Wembley.
Ten Hag is considering using Jadon Sancho as a centre-forward on his United comeback. The winger played in pre-season but has not made a competitive appearance for the club for 11 months and, with Rasmus Hojlund injured and new signing Joshua Zirkzee unlikely to start after Euro 2024, Sancho could lead the line.
He added: “Jadon can play across the whole frontline. He’s an option for more than one position and it depends how you set up the team.”
