Ole Gunnar Solskjaer Confirms Harry Maguire Has a Chance of Facing Norwich

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has confirmed that Harry Maguire’s hip injury is not as bad as first feared, with the £80m centre back even in with a chance of returning to action on Saturday against Norwich.


Maguire suffered the problem during the FA Cup clash with Wolves last weekend and was ruled out of the Carabao Cup semi-final against Manchester City as a result.

Harry Maguire

With Axel Tuanzebe, Eric Bailly and Marcos Rojo also ruled out through injury, that game saw stand-in Phil Jones endure a nightmarish performance in one of his few appearances of the season.

When Solskjaer spoke to the media after the City game, he was unsure whether Maguire would be ready to return in time to face Norwich. A report then claimed that the former Leicester star was facing a ‘sustained spell’ out of action because of a torn hip muscle.

It was even rumoured that United were considering looking to the transfer market for a short-term loan to provide the necessary cover while Maguire recovered, especially with the club also unable to recall Chris Smalling from his successful loan at Roma.

Chris Smalling,Gervinho

Fortunately for United, Maguire’s problem is much less serious than was suggested.

“He’s got a chance of tomorrow so we’ll give him today training and see if he gets through that one because it wasn’t a bad one,” Solskjaer told MUTV on Friday morning. “We'll see tomorrow.”

An earlier report from the Daily Mail explained that the tear was only a small one and that Maguire had been able to train on grass on Thursday.

In other team news, Solskjaer delivered a positive update on long-term absentees Eric Bailly and Timothy Fosu-Mensah, both of whom are set to play for the Under-23 side on Friday night. Jesse Lingard, however, is ill and will be unavailable to face Norwich.

Roberto Gagliardini,Eric Bailly

“Jesse’s illness has got worse and so he won't be available,” Solskjaer said.

“Eric and Tim are going to play in the reserves tonight. It's positive for them and they've been waiting for a long time, training for a while, and it'll be good to see them in a proper kit.”


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Source : 90min