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regular-article-logo Sunday, 03 November 2024

Return of Rashford, Lindelof a boost to Manchester United ahead of Champions League clash

A win for the Red Devils against Copenhagen in Denmark would give them the edge ahead of the crucial fixture in Turkey on matchday 5

Our Bureau And Agencies London Published 08.11.23, 10:23 AM
Danylo Sikan scores for Shakhtar Donetsk during the Champions League group H match against FC Barcelona in Hamburg on Tuesday. Shakhtar won 1-0. In the group F match between Dortmund and Newcastle, the former registered a 2-0 victory.

Danylo Sikan scores for Shakhtar Donetsk during the Champions League group H match against FC Barcelona in Hamburg on Tuesday. Shakhtar won 1-0. In the group F match between Dortmund and Newcastle, the former registered a 2-0 victory. Getty Images

Manchester United play a must-win Champions League game, against Copenhagen, on Wednesday and manager Erik ten Hag will be glad to hear that two of the Red Devils’ important players are set to return.

Marcus Rashford trained with the squad on Tuesday morning.

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The 26-year-old had sustained a heavy knock in United’s final training session before facing Fulham at the weekend and failed a late fitness test on the morning of the match that ruled him out.

It remains to be seen whether or not Rashford will be fit enough to feature in Denmark on Wednesday night, but the early indications are promising as he was seen taking part in a light session with his teammates.

Victor Lindelof also trained with the main group after being absent from the win against Fulham due to illness, but the highly-regarded youngster Kobbie Mainoo wasn’t spotted.

Group A is on a knife’s edge with Galatasaray currently ahead of United but the Turkish side takes on Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena.

A win for the Red Devils in Denmark would give them the edge ahead of the crucial fixture in Turkey on matchday 5.

Bayern Munich’s Dayot Upamecano and Leon Goretzka will resume their defensive duties after their comeback from injury in the Bundesliga at the weekend.

Ancelotti optimistic

Real Madrid are optimistic about Jude Bellingham’s chances of playing against visiting Braga, manager Carlo Ancelotti said, with the midfielder having scored in all three of their Champions League games this season.

Bellingham has made an exceptional start to his Real career but the England international, who also has 10 goals in 11 La Liga games, suffered a dislocated shoulder in Sunday’s scoreless draw with Rayo Vallecano.

“He hasn’t done all of the training, to avoid blows, but he’s felt good in his movements,” Ancelotti told reporters on Tuesday. “He’ll probably play tomorrow (Wednesday) but I’ll evaluate it with him tomorrow (Wednesday).”

Real lead group C with three wins and another victory over the Portuguese after last month’s 2-1 success away would guarantee qualification with two games to spare. “It would be important, at this stage of the season, to finish the group stage in four games,” Ancelotti said. “We recently played against Braga, we know each other well...”

Ancelotti also responded to former Barcelona player Carles Puyol, who recently spoke in public about how he would like to talk to Real forward Vinicius Jr about his attitude. The Brazilian was racially abused during Clasico when Real beat Barca 2-1 but the player was also criticised for provoking the crowd after his substitution.

Written with inputs from Reuters

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