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Manchester United face a challenging encounter against Manchester City in the Community Shield at Wembley this weekend, with up to four key defenders potentially sidelined.
Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, and Luke Shaw are all doubts for the match, although Lisandro Martinez is expected to participate after returning to training earlier this week.
Maguire was absent from United’s final pre-season match against Liverpool last weekend, while Lindelof was substituted at half-time during the defeat as a precautionary measure.
Wan-Bissaka was taken off in the closing minutes of the friendly, and Shaw has only recently resumed training following his participation in the European Championship.
In addition to these four players, it was previously confirmed that Leny Yoro and Rasmus Hojlund will be sidelined for three months and six weeks, respectively. This brings the total to six players who will be unavailable for the Community Shield clash against Manchester City.
In his pre-match press conference on Thursday, manager Erik Ten Hag provided an update on the squad’s fitness: “Harry Maguire missed the game, was a precaution but is still a question mark for Saturday, so we have training, we have to see whether he is fit enough or not to be available.”
He further elaborated: “Victor played but also he’s a question mark and also Azza [Wan-Bissaka] and Luke Shaw are both question marks, we have to assess them tomorrow. We think about Licha to be involved in the game.”
These uncertainties may lead to a makeshift United side on Saturday afternoon, with Ten Hag carefully managing the return of players who participated in international tournaments over the summer.
Ten Hag emphasised that the return of these players would be evaluated individually: “That is individual based, everyone has a different background, we put them on off-season programmes but they have different starts while we were in USA, we will assess them, make a decision whether they start, come from the bench or whether they don’t play.”
Currently, United have only three fit senior defenders: Martinez, Jonny Evans, and Diogo Dalot. As a result, Harry Amass might be called upon to start at left-back.
With the significant defensive doubts, Ten Hag faces a tricky decision in assembling a competitive lineup for the Community Shield, underscoring the challenges of managing players’ fitness in the aftermath of a busy summer of international football.
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