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Football

26th Feb 2019

Manchester United may miss up to 10 players for Crystal Palace match

Wayne Farry

They are down to the bare bones

Manchester United could be without as many as 10 first players for their match against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Wednesday.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side come into the game after a 0-0 home draw with Liverpool which saw three of their players go off injured in the first half.

Juan Mata, Ander Herrera and Jesse Lingard all came off within the first 45 minutes, with Lingard exiting only a short few minutes after entering the pitch himself.

Marcus Rashford played the entire game – and played quite well – but struggled from an early stage with an injury and is a doubt for the Palace game.

Nemanja Matic – who missed the Liverpool game through injury – is definitely out – as are Mata, Herrera and Lingard. Anthony Martial, Mason Greenwood and Phil Jones have also been ruled out.

The injury-hit squad will represent a true challenge for manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who has seen his squad decimated since injuries to Lingard and Martial during their Champions League second round first leg defeat to Paris Saint-Germain.

Ahead of the game, Solskjaer has called for strikers Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez to step up to the plate in the absence of their teammates.

It’s a chance for them to play to their potential,” he said. “Reputation is one thing – but the potential [of both players] is high. The two are good mates, link up well together so this might be a chance for them to find some form and give a selection headache for when everyone gets fit.”

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