Erik ten Hag dealt huge blow as two attackers could miss Man City clash

Manchester United are finally back in Premier League action this weekend as they make the trip to the Etihad Stadium, having last played a league game almost four weeks ago against Arsenal.

Erik ten Hag’s men are currently on a four-game winning streak and will be looking to extend that further against Manchester City, who sit second in the table, five points ahead of the Reds.

Thus far, it seems like most of United’s international players, 20 of them to be precise, have returned to the club unscathed but there are concerns over two players who did not link up with their national teams.

That’s according to The Times, who say that Ten Hag is fearing the prospect of facing City without both Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial, with the pair labeled as doubts for the storied fixture.

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Rashford sustained an injury in the 3-1 win over Arsenal and Martial has not featured since the 2-1 win over Liverpool last month – it’s claimed that neither player took part in training this week.

Martial’s injury is said to be more severe than Rashford’s but with four weeks passing since that game against Arsenal, questions must be asked over the severity of Rashford’s issue as well.

SN’s verdict…
United have coped with the loss of Martial well, winning all three of the league games he has missed after his injury. But losing Rashford would be a heavy blow for Ten Hag.

Rashford is United’s top goalscorer in the league this season and he’s also created two goals, directly contributing to five goals in six games.

He’s also a counter-attacking threat and that could have been one tactic Ten Hag was considering ahead of this game. All will be revealed in Friday’s pre-match press conference but as things stand, it does not look good for the Dutchman.

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