Manchester United have been dealt massive injury blows ahead of Wednesday's Champions League clash with Barcelona. The Red Devils arrived at their hotel on the eve of their quarter-final first leg encounter but without both Ander Herrera and Nemanja Matic.
The duo has been pivotal in the resurgence of the Old Trafford outfit under new manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, as they have handed Paul Pogba the needed freedom to operate more offensively. However, the Norwegian manager will be required to resort to a makeshift setup with the players potentially set to be sidelined.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference on Tuesday, Solskjaer ruled out Herrera for the impending clash while casting doubt on Matic's availability.
"We still hope maybe that Nemanja [Matic] can be ready," he said. "Ander [Herrera] probably out."
Grafting hard ahead of another big game #MUFC #UCL pic.twitter.com/tWjauxr0Vs
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) April 9, 2019
According to Manchester Evening News, both Matic and Herrera were amiss when the team arrived at the Lowry Hotel. As a result, both Scott McTominay and Fred – who starred in the Red Devils' remontada against Paris Saint-Germain in the Round of 16 – could be handed respective starts against Barcelona.
Relatively, MEN confirmed that Antonio Valencia, Eric Bailly, and Alexis Sanchez were not seen making their way out of the team bus. Below are the names of players who were in attendance at the Lowry Hotel:
Goalkeepers: De Gea, Romero, Grant;
Defenders: Lindelof, Dalot, Jones, Rojo, Smalling, Young, Shaw
Midfielders: Pogba, Pereira, Fred, Mata, Garner, Lingard, McTominay
Forwards: Lukaku, Martial, Rashford.
