Manchester United are set to be without three key midfielders for Saturday’s Premier League showdown against Liverpool at Anfield.
The official United website claim long-term absentee Paul Pogba is expected to be joined on the sidelines by Marouane Fellaini and Michael Carrick.
Pogba has been missing since he was withdrawn in the first half of the 3-0 Champions League victory over Basel on 12 September with a hamstring injury and Carrick has been sidelined for the last two games.
Fellaini joined the injury list after sustaining knee ligament damage in the first half of Belgium’s 4-3 win over Bosnia last Saturday that is set to sideline him for a few weeks.
Mourinho confirmed it is unlikely Fellaini will face Liverpool and Ander Herrera is one contender to feature alongside Nemanja Matic.
“From what I read, I don’t think he [Fellaini] can play the match,” Mourinho told the United website. “Another one plays and it’s no problem for me. Not just Ander. We trust every player. We lost players last season and we lost players this season. With our way of thinking and feeling, it really is no problem.
“One player not playing means another one plays. It’s an opportunity for another one and we trust them. We never hide behind this or that player or this or that injury. We trust the ones that are going to play.”
OPINION
Whatever Mourinho says, the fact is that Pogba and Fellaini will be sorely missed against Liverpool. Both are tall, physical and ideally suited to midfield combat zones in tight matches against marquee opponents. Carrick remains a useful back-up option, but his days as a regular are long gone. Mourinho’s preference would surely have been to pair Matic and Pogba together at Anfield, with Fellaini held in reserve as an impact substitute. He will have to come up with an alternative game-plan to nullify a Sadio Mane-less Liverpool.