Erik ten Hag will start with a selection dilemma as he waits to see how many defenders will be available for Saturday’s Community Shield clash with Manchester City. Harry Maguire Victor Lindelof, Luke Shaw, and Aaron Wan-Bissaka are doubts, Lisandro Martínez only returned to training this week after winning the Copa América with Argentina, New player Lineiro will be out for three months due to his foot injury.
“Harry Maguire had a concussion [against Liverpool last week] as a precaution, but he is training for Saturday.” he said. Does he have enough? You have to see no. I played Victor but he is a question mark and both Azza [Wan-Bissaka] and Luke Shaw are question marks and we have to assess them tomorrow.” Ten Hag said.
The problem is that the manager has to consider whether he should risk defenders who are not fully fit or is better off playing a weaker team. United suffered a lot of injuries last season and Ten Hag is trying to prevent that from happening again. He has Jonny Evans and Diogo Dalot, but could turn to youngsters Rhys Bennett or Harry Amass to defend at Wembley.
All those who played in the summer majors returned to training last Friday or Monday, leaving Ten Hag to assess their availability on a case-by-case basis.”We always want to win in every friendly match.It’s a trophy and we’re going to field a very competitive team to win this trophy. It’s also pre-season and doesn’t involve big risks with players.”He said.