Man Utd boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has confirmed that Luke Shaw will not be involved against Chelsea in their FA Cup semi-final clash this weekend.
The 25-year-old has been a key figure for the Red Devils so far this season, making 33 appearances across all competitions.
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However, he missed the win over Crystal Palace in midweek after picking up an injury against Southampton, and so there were doubts over his availability heading into this weekend.
As noted by the club’s official site, Solskjaer has now confirmed that Shaw will play no part against Chelsea which is a blow in itself given the magnitude of the game and Shaw’s experience, while he is hopeful that youngster Brandon Williams can recover in time from an injury of his own to give him a much-needed boost and a natural option at left-back.
“Luke will be out,” he is quoted as saying in the report above. “I can’t see him recovering. Brandon will hopefully be okay, he’ll try to join in training today with his eye. We’ll see if he can see the ball when he comes in! He should be fine.”
Timothy Fosu-Mensah is another option at Solskjaer’s disposal after he filled in last time out, but he’ll be hoping for positive news from Williams while also keeping his fingers crossed that Shaw won’t be sidelined for much longer.
While missing the semi-final clash is a major blow, there are two crucial games remaining in the Premier League with Man Utd still battling to secure a top-four finish and subsequently to seal Champions League qualification, and Solskjaer will no doubt be desperate to be as close to full strength as possible for games against West Ham Utd and Leicester City to finish off the campaign.