Manchester United will be without nine players for their Champions League clash with Como, while the Italian side will have 15 available, meaning a combined 19 players are set to miss the match. Michael Carrick's side travel to Italy needing a win to revive their European campaign after a 1-1 draw with Leeds United at the weekend extended their winless run to six matches (three defeats and three draws).
Carrick's depleted squad
Luke Shaw and Kobbie Mainoo missed the draw at Elland Road, with Mainoo sidelined until before the November international break and Shaw facing a longer spell on the treatment table. Lisandro Martinez, who was forced off at half-time against Leeds after making comments in the Champions League and apologising in clear-the-air meetings with club staff, could return against Bournemouth this weekend but Wednesday comes too soon.
Marcus Rashford continues to be rested due to a hip injury picked up during the World Cup across North America. Longer-term absentees include Manuel Ugarte, Patrick Dorgu and Benjamin Sesko, with Ayden Heaven set to miss a second consecutive game through illness.
Carrick's update
Carrick said: "A bit of a mixed bag to be honest. We've got quite a few missing. Licha's not too bad, but he's not with us, so we'll have to see whether he's ready for the weekend or not."
He added: "Kobbie, we're probably looking at another maybe 10 days or so, but not exact. Luke a little bit longer than that. A bit of injury and a bit of illness in the camp floating through us. Ayden's ill and Marcus is still feeling a little bit of a hip issue that we're trying to overcome, so hopefully that'll be soon as well."
Como's squad restrictions
Como have an identical record to United after a defeat to Feyenoord following a 4-1 win over RB Leipzig. Trevoh Chalobah, Moise Kean and Assane Diano are sidelined through injuries, but Fabregas has highlighted the club's struggles with UEFA squad-list rules.
The Italian club, which has risen from Serie D to the top flight, must include four club-trained players and four more trained in Italy in their squad list. However, Como's academy is still expanding and lacks enough Italian players, so they submitted a list of 23 players, two fewer than the allocated 25.
Fabregas said: "This is sometimes the positives and the negatives when you put everything into a balance. When you grow very, very fast on the pitch, but, of course, off the pitch there's also many, many things that need to be improved and to be talked about, analysed, et cetera."
He added: "Sometimes our academy, for example. We are penalised, big time, in the Champions League, because of the UEFA list. For example, tomorrow, we maybe have to go with 15 players. That's all we've got, because we don't have an academy, over the last few years, that allows us to provide the certain quality that you need to play in Champions League nights."
