Up to 15 players could miss Saturday's Premier League meeting between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford after both squads suffered fresh injury blows during the international break.
United had just one win in their last four games in all competitions before the break, coming from behind to rescue a point in a 1-1 draw against Fulham in their last outing. Spurs sit at the bottom of the Premier League table, with Roberto De Zerbi still searching for his first league win as Tottenham boss after a 3-2 defeat to Aston Villa.
United's defensive concerns
Patrick Dorgu and Noussair Mazraoui are both expected to sit the game out for United after sustaining injuries while on international duty. "Patrick came off and looks like he'll be out for probably a number of weeks," Michael Carrick said. "Nous [Mazraoui] came off and took a knock. He's not quite right yet, so we'll have to see how he is."
Striker Benjamin Sesko is also certain to be absent after pulling out of the Slovenia squad and being ruled out of the draw with Fulham prior to the international break due to injury. There will be last-minute assessments on the availability of Marcus Rashford and Kobbie Mainoo, following the pair's withdrawal from the England squad at the beginning of the break.
Mixed fitness news
Doubts also remain over the fitness of summer signing Carlos Baleba and forward Amad Diallo, who have returned to training for United, though neither has featured at all this season. "Carlos [Baleba] has improved, he's trained a lot," Carrick said. "Amad's done a little bit of training, Marcus has done a little bit of training, Kobbie's done a little bit of training. So, a little bit mixed really between the group. Ben's a little bit further away with the issue he's got, so he won't be ready."
It also remains unclear whether Matthijs de Ligt will have regained full fitness, as the defender is still recovering from a back problem that has sidelined him since last November. Manuel Ugarte remains out long-term with a knee complaint, while doubts persist over the availability of goalkeeping pair Karl Darlow and Tom Heaton.
Tottenham's absentees
In a boost, Spurs will have Jan Paul van Hecke and Micky van de Ven available for selection, despite them picking up knocks during the international window. De Zerbi also expects midfielder James Maddison to be available, though the Tottenham boss acknowledged the playmaker has experienced a training setback. "He [Maddison] is available but he lost three/four days in the beginning of this week and the end of the last week," De Zerbi said.
However, Pedro Porro and Mykhailo Mudryk will both be absent, with De Zerbi confirming neither is fit to take on United. Dejan Kulusevski, Xavi Simons and Wilson Odobert continue to sit on the sidelines for Tottenham and are not expected to feature.
