Manchester United injury news: Luke Shaw and Marouane Fellaini face tests with seven concerns ahead of derby

Shaw and Fellaini have started all three Premier League matches this season but face fitness tests ahead of Saturday's Manchester derby

Manchester United head into Saturday’s derby match against Manchester City with an alarming seven injury concerns on their hands, with three first-team regulars battling to be fit for the biggest game of the Premier League season so far as Jose Mourinho assesses his options.

Luke Shaw, Antonio Valencia and Henrikh Mkhitaryan all returned from international duty with knocks that is threatening their inclusion in the Manchester derby, while Marouane Fellaini faces a late test on the back injury that Mourinho initially described as one that “did not look good” two weeks ago.

Fellaini recovered quicker than expected though and featured in Belgium’s 3-0 win over Cyprus on Tuesday, and Mourinho will put the midfielder through his paces in training on Friday before deciding whether to stick with the former Everton man alongside world record signing Paul Pogba.

Despite the positive update on Fellaini, the rest of United’s injury concerns give Mourinho a reason to worry. Left-back Shaw pulled out of England’s 2018 World Cup qualifier against Slovakia with an “uncomfortable” feeling in the leg that he broke last year. Shaw missed the bulk of the 2015/16 season when he suffered a double compound fracture to his right lower leg during United’s Champions League group stage clash with PSV Eindhoven last September, and caution is being shown over his return to first-team football in order to prevent any further injuries.

England manager Sam Allardyce confirmed that he expected Shaw to be fit for United’s derby encounter with City, but the club will assess the left-back’s fitness before making a decision over his inclusion.

Matters were not helped either by the late return of South American trio Valencia, Sergio Romero and Marcos Rojo, who only arrived back in Manchester on Thursday night and have just 24 hours to prepare for Saturday afternoon’s kick-off.


 Fellaini should be fit to start the derby after returning for Belgium on Tuesday 
 (Getty)

Another concern for Mourinho is the fitness of forward Jesse Lingard, who has not featured in a United squad since the Community Shield victory over Leicester City last month. With Mkhitaryan out for around 10 days, Lingard would have been a likely inclusion on the United substitutes’ bench, but the England Under-21 international has not been seen since he limped out of the Wembley curtain-raiser with a foot injury at half-time.

Lingard’s recovery was thought to have been a short-term absence, but a month later the forward is yet to be named in a matchday squad in the Premier League.