2 weeks ago
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Ruben Amorim has revealed he is not sure if Noussair Mazraoui will be available to face Liverpool on Sunday.
The defender has not played for Manchester United since 20 September due to injury and was among six senior players to miss Thursday’s training session at Carrington. Lisandro Martinez was also absent but is closing in on a return following his long-term knee issue, while Bruno Fernandes, Matheus Cunha, Amad and Casemiro were also absent from the session.
Speaking on Friday ahead of the trip to Anfield, Amorim was asked for the latest team news. "Licha [Martinez] is near and almost returning to training with the team. Mazraoui, I don’t know,” he replied.
“The rest of the guys with the international teams, they are ready,” the under-fire United head coach added. “But if you saw the games, some players were in Japan, so we need to be careful and give more time.
"Diogo [Dalot] didn’t play the last game, he was here. Bruno [Fernandes] played 62 minutes, we tried to give one more day.
“We tried to balance everything to have the guys ready, but the guys returning from international break, they are ready.”
As for Liverpool, Alisson, Giovanno Leoni and Watru Endo are the only players missing, with Ibrahima Konate and Ryan Gravenberch available as the champions look to reclaim top spot by beating their old foes on Sunday.
United already finds itself five points behind Liverpool this season, and finished 42 points worse off last term.
Given the gulf in class between the sides, Amorim admitted he is unsure how long it will take for United to try and bridge that gap.
“I don’t know. Sometimes things change really fast but if you see the history of both clubs, you can feel that one club is winning, winning, winning and the other club is having a bad moment.
“That happened with Liverpool when Manchester United was winning everything, and that happened with Manchester United when Liverpool was winning everything.
“So we just have to acknowledge that and be really honest with the fans.
“But we can win any game,” Amorim continued. “If we think about just winning the next game, then that is the most important thing.
“If we are going to fight and be at the same level as Liverpool in the future - that is the idea but I don’t know how long it is going to take.”
English (US) ·