SAN FRANCISCO, December 07, (THEWILL) –Â Uruguayan striker Edinson Cavani and Frenchman Anthony Martial have been ruled out of Manchester United’s next tie, their UEFA Champions League clash with RB Leipzig.
The Red Devils’ forwards were substituted in the second half of Saturday’s 3-1 Premier League victory at West Ham, where United fought back from a half-time deficit to win through goals from Paul Pogba, Mason Greenwood and Marcus Rashford.
Manager Ole Gunnar Soslskjaer confirmed on Monday that neither Cavani nor Martial will travel to Germany for Tuesday’s game implying that the injuries they sustained would not be short-term.
However, in positive news for Solskjaer, goalkeeper David de Gea is available again after missing the West Ham win and defender Luke Shaw is back in the travelling squad after missing a month of action with a hamstring problem.
“David’s back in, Luke is travelling, Edinson and Anthony [have] only minor niggles but they won’t be making the trip,” Solskjaer said in comments ahead of the game.
The bulk of the goalscoring burden will rest squarely on 19-year-old Greenwood now that Cavani and Martial are out and Rashford continues to battle a shoulder issue.
Greenwood has shown he can handle the pressure, scoring 20 goals in all competitions since the start of the 2019/2020. That tally is twice as many as any other teenager playing for a Premier League side.
He has only been impeded by minor injury problems and there are reports of concern around his application in training and recovery. All these have limited his impact this term, with his strike against West Ham his only goal in seven league appearances.
However, Solskjaer believes the forward has what it takes as he prepares his side for a game knowing that a draw will be enough to guarantee their place in the last 16.
“Mason’s a very talented forward. He’s one of the best finishers I’ve worked with and when we can provide chances for him or he creates chances for himself with his movement, we’ve got a good chance for scoring goals.
“He’s still young, still learning and he’ll only improve with the quality and experience of the characters we have around him. He’s exciting to work with.
“You get to the last game of the group stage and you’re in the next round if you go and win that game or draw, so it’s an important game, of course it is.”
