(Reuters) – Manchester United left back Luke Shaw is still not ready for Wednesday’s League Cup game at home to Barnsley, manager Erik Ten Hag said on Monday, while Matthijs de Ligt, Lisandro Martinez, and Noussair Mazraoui will be available for the clash.
Shaw sustained a calf injury at the start of pre-season training and was expected to return after the international break but Ten Hag said he cannot put a definitive time scale on the 29-year-old’s comeback.
“First, Luke Shaw, he’s progressing but not ready yet to be selected,” Ten Hag told reporters.
“Of course, we have a plan in our head when he can be ready but you are always dependent on how the progress will go.
“You can’t think, you can’t make a suggestion (of a return date) because there are so many factors why a plan can accelerate or slow down.”
Ten Hag said United’s full back Mazraoui and centre back pair de Ligt and Martinez are ready for the League Cup after they were substituted in the second half of their 3-0 win at Southampton on Saturday.
However, Manuel Ugarte, who made his United debut as a substitute last week at St. Mary’s, is still under the radar of Ten Hag’s selection process.
“They are all available (Mazraoui, De Ligt, and Martinez). They are good,” the 54-year-old said.
“Ugarte you will see tomorrow what the selection will be for this game.”
United will be without Victor Lindelof, Tyrell Malacia, Leny Yoro, Mason Mount, and Rasmus Hojlund – all of who missed the weekend win due to injury.
“They are not ready for tomorrow. We will see, our progress will continue,” Ten Hag added.
The United boss aimed at “winning trophies” in the leagues and focused on player rotations to cover all the games.
“I have many players available and we can make a selection from game to game, definitely we have to rotate because we have to cover so many games. It’s not only about the starting XI. A nice headache,” he said.
(Reporting by Suramya Kaushik in Bengaluru, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
