Wayne Rooney and Michael Carrick unavailable for Manchester United's Europa League tie with St Etienne
The pair have been ruled out for the first leg of the last-32 tie in order to 'protect' them from minor 'muscular problems'
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Wayne Rooney and Michael Carrick will not be available for Manchester United's last-32 Europa League clash with St Etienne on Thursday night, manager Jose Mourinho has confirmed.
The pair have been ruled out for the first leg of the last-32 tie in order to "protect" both players from minor 'muscular problems'.
Defender Phil Jones will also miss tomorrow night's game as he continues to recover from a hamstring injury he sustained against Hull.
Marcos Rojo is expected to return, however. The Argentine was substituted against Leicester on February 5 but is now available for selection.
Speaking in his Wednesday press conference, Mourinho said: “Phil is still recovering from the injury of the Wigan match."
“Wayne and Michael are, I don’t want to say injures, because I don’t think we are talking about injuries.
“We are speaking about little muscular problem and protection of these problems, so all three are out tomorrow and, apart from that, everything is alright.”
Rooney missed United's 3-0 victory against Leicester earlier this month through illness but returned to the bench for the side's more recent 2-0 defeat of Watford at the weekend.
Mourinho was careful in branding the experienced duo 'injured' when questioned, but confirmed that neither would take to the field against the Ligue 1 side.
Luke Shaw remains a notable absentee as he struggles to reclaim his spot in the United starting XI. Mourinho has now overlooked Shaw for a fourth successive match, raising fresh questions over the United left-back's future.
"He's not playing tomorrow," Mourinho said. "Because my team is playing well and I am happy with my back four, and I'm going to repeat (Antonio) Valencia, (Eric) Bailly, (Chris) Smalling, (Daley) Blind."
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments