Manchester United manager Michael Carrick has delivered the team news ahead of their UEFA Champions League clash with Atletico Madrid tomorrow.
The Red Devils have travelled to Spain for their second Champions League fixture of the season, facing one of their toughest tests of the campaign so far.
Earlier reports suggested that Kobbie Mainoo and Luke Shaw had not travelled with the squad for the crucial European encounter.
Carrick has now confirmed the disappointing news in the pre-match press conference, revealing that both players have been ruled out with injuries.
He said: “They’ve not travelled, they both picked up issues in the game on Saturday [against Spurs] and we were working through that, to see what that looks like.
“At the moment, they are not ready for the game tomorrow.”
The injury to Shaw is hardly surprising after the left-back was visibly limping following the 1-1 draw against Tottenham Hotspur.
Carrick was eventually forced to withdraw during stoppage time.
Even if Shaw had been fit enough to travel, Carrick may have been tempted to protect him given the defender’s troubling injury history.
We are only in October and Shaw is already out for the second time due to injury this campaign.
INEOS took a massive gamble by not signing a left-back in the summer. Their poor transfer strategy is now forcing Carrick to search for emergency options.
With Noussair Mazraoui and Patrick Dorgu also sidelined, Diogo Dalot could be asked to fill in at left-back against Atletico.
An injury to Mainoo is a major setback. He has been the best United player this campaign.
Carlos Baleba, Andre Santos, Youri Tielemans and Mason Mount are potential candidates to step into the void.
Benjamin Sesko and Manuel Ugarte are also out due to their respective injuries.
There is some major positive news for United supporters, with Carrick confirming that Matthijs de Ligt is finally ready to return after an 11-month injury layoff.
The £42.7 million signing could now be handed a carefully managed comeback, with a second-half substitute appearance potentially on the cards.
The 45-year-old said: “It’s good to have Matta in and around it. We’ve had a little bit of patience with him, working through that and working hard to get to this stage. He’s had a long journey so we’re delighted to have him back.”
The Red Devils began their Champions League campaign in emphatic fashion, cruising to a 4-0 victory over Sabah FK.
However, the upcoming fixture against the La Liga giants could be their real test.
Stats from Fotmob.com