Manchester United have several players on the sidelines with injury ahead of their Premier League clash against Fulham this weekend
Patrick Dorgu of Manchester United
Patrick Dorgu suffered an injury blow during Manchester United's win over Arsenal(Image: Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images)
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Manchester United are being forced to deal with several injury concerns as they continue their quest to qualify for the Champions League. United claimed a 3-2 win over Arsenal in the Premier League at the weekend to move up to fourth place in the table.
Victory at the Emirates Stadium means that Michael Carrick has won each of his two matches since replacing Ruben Amorim in the Old Trafford dugout.
Attention will now turn towards the weekend, where United will hope to continue their winning form and boost their Champions League qualification hopes. Fulham will be United’s opponents at Old Trafford in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.
However, Carrick may be forced to deal with several players on the sidelines through injury for the game.
Here, the Manchester Evening News takes a look at the latest United injury news and potential return dates ahead of the Premier League clash against Fulham...
Patrick Dorgu
Patrick Dorgu suffered a potential hamstring injury during United’s win over Arsenal over the weekend after scoring a decisive goal at the Emirates Stadium.
United sources insist that there remains no clear timeframe for when the Reds expect to have Dorgu back available, with some reports suggesting that the Denmark international could be unavailable for around 10 weeks.
Carrick stated after the win over Arsenal that he hoped the injury to Dorgu was only cramp.
“Pat’s been a big player for us, obviously he’s scored two goals but in terms of the threat and athleticism and quality, he’s been immense down the side with Luke [Shaw] against two teams that ask a lot of questions.
“I am delighted for him because the two goals he’s scored are very different goals. It's nice to see him smiling and happy. He obviously came off with, hopefully, a little bit of cramp, hopefully, it's nothing worse.
“At this stage, it's hard to tell, so we'll just have to wait and see. Hopefully it's not too bad.”
Potential return date: March
Joshua Zirkzee
Joshua Zirkzee has missed United’s last two matches with an unspecified injury that was expected to keep him on the sidelines for around two weeks.
As a result, the striker is not expected to return until sometime in February, but it remains to be seen if he will be available to face Fulham at the weekend.
Potential return date: February
Matthijs de Ligt
Matthijs de Ligt has been sidelined with a back injury since November and is moving closer to a return.
Carrick stated that De Ligt had suffered a “setback” in his recovery ahead of the clash against Arsenal, before confirming that he hopes to have the defender available in the near future.
"He had a bit of setback before I arrived, only small but he was a little bit slower than we had liked," said Carrick. "He’s getting closer and hopefully in the next couple of weeks he will be back and around it."
Potential return date: February