Eight players will be absent when Everton host Manchester United at Hill Dickinson Stadium, with the Premier League clash set to feature a number of notable absentees. Among those missing is United's £70m summer signing Carlos Baleba, who has an ankle issue, while Everton will be without Christian Norgaard.
Everton's only confirmed absentee
From an Everton standpoint, the sole player certain to miss the fixture against United is summer acquisition Christian Norgaard. The Dane has yet to feature competitively, and manager David Moyes revealed last week why a comeback isn't anticipated in the near future.
"Christian is still not making great progress at the moment," Moyes said. "It's not something where we're probably going to get him back quickly, so we'll just need to see how that develops."
United's injury list
For United, they will be without numerous players for the journey to face Everton. One absentee will be £70m summer signing Carlos Baleba, who picked up an ankle problem during pre-season.
"He's got a little ankle issue," Carrick said in August when asked about Baleba's fitness. "So, maybe a couple of weeks or so, maybe three weeks, we'll see. But we knew that before, so it's no major issue. It'll be great to have him back when we can."
Manuel Ugarte remains a lengthy absentee for United with a knee injury, while Matthijs de Ligt and Tom Heaton are not anticipated to return from their respective injury concerns any time soon. There are also doubts surrounding whether Amad Diallo will be fit enough to feature against Everton, with the winger picking up a muscle injury in training and no clear timeline for his comeback yet established.
Fitness doubts and returns
Two players who could come through their fitness concerns in time for United are Luke Shaw and Mason Mount. Shaw was forced off with a fitness problem during last weekend's victory over Ipswich Town, but is expected to be fit to face Everton.
Meanwhile, Carrick has confirmed that Mount has returned to training following his recovery from a foot injury. The United boss said: "Mase is back around the group, which was great. Trained this week, so that's a big positive for us."
The Toffees are unbeaten, while United followed up a chastening 2-0 away loss to Hull City with a more convincing 5-2 victory over Ipswich Town. Everton have started with a 2-0 home win over Crystal Palace and a 1-1 away draw with Bournemouth. As both sides look to add another three points to their tally, the absentees could prove decisive.
