Manchester United cruised into the last 16 of the Europa League with an aggregate 4-0 victory over Saint-Etienne but it came at a cost as the Red Devils could be without goal-scorer Henrikh Mkhitaryan and midfielder Michael Carrick.
Both players were substituted in the match and could miss Sunday’s EFL Cup final match against Southampton at Wembley, leaving Jose Mourinho with selection headache ahead of the game.
Mourinho’s men had a three-goal lead from the first leg of the round of 32 at Old Trafford thanks to a Zlatan Ibrahimovic hat-trick. Mkhitaryan put United ahead in France when he flicked in Juan Mata’s cross on 16 minutes but limped off the field nine minutes later with what could be a hamstring injury and he was replaced by Marcus Rashford
Carrick followed suit leaving the field with a suspected calf injury in the second half and was replaced by Bastian Schweinsteiger. The loss of the two players is a big blow to Mourinho who will be looking to claim his first trophy as United’s boss on Sunday.
Speaking after the match, Mourinho said there is “no chance” the duo will be available to face Southampton at Wembley in five days. Schweinsteiger and Marouane Fellaini are expected to come in for the two.
Man United are in the race to win treble this season and the EFL final on Sunday will be their fourth match in 10 days having won the previous three games. They have now lost just one of their last 25 games in all competitions