Man United boss Jose Mourinho has confirmed that Henrikh Mkhitaryan is out of the EFL Cup final against Southampton on Sunday due to injury.
The Armenian international scored in his side’s win over St Etienne in the Europa League on Wednesday, but was forced off with an injury shortly after.
Michael Carrick also came away with a problem in that game, but the veteran midfielder has been passed fit to feature against the Saints, while Mkhitaryan has been left desperately disappointed as he will miss his first major final since moving to England last summer.
Meanwhile, Jose Mourinho also confirmed Phil Jones will face a late fitness test to determine whether or not he’s fit enough to feature, while Wayne Rooney will be in the squad for the clash after missing time in recent weeks due to an injury problem of his own.
The Portuguese tactician will be eager to lift his first trophy as United boss this weekend, although he’ll have to continue to contend with a packed fixture list which will put pressure on his squad to cope.
Given the amount of quality at his disposal in each position, he should be expected to handle it. However, with Mkhitaryan out, he’ll be hoping to avoid losing any other key individuals moving forward.
The manager says Mkhitaryan will miss the #EFLCup final but Carrick is available. On Jones: "Let's see and decide tomorrow." #MUFC pic.twitter.com/EvtGtWnK0B
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) February 24, 2017
Jose Mourinho also confirms Wayne Rooney will be in the #MUFC squad for Sunday's game. pic.twitter.com/xrz9ekAU67
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) February 24, 2017