Erik ten Hag provides injury update with five Reds ruled out and one player in a race for fitness to make Luton trip

Erik ten Hag has provided a team news update for Manchester United’s trip to face Luton Town this Sunday.

There has been growing speculation over Luke Shaw’s condition after he was withdrawn at the interval during last week’s win over Aston Villa with an unspecified issue, and the manager has now revealed that the Englishman is a doubt for the Hatters clash, though there are hopes he may be deemed fit in time.

“He is doubtful for the weekend but we are positive he can make it. So, he fell out [of the game], it was a precaution [to substitute him] and I think it was the right decision, especially when you, afterwards, win the game. But we are working to Sunday,” Ten Hag said in today’s press conference, as cited by ManUtd.com.

United’s long-term absentees

Mason Mount, Tyrell Malacia and Aaron Wan-Bissaka are all sidelined for the fixture too, leaving the manager considerably short in the fullback department. The latter has suffered a setback in his recovery, while Malacia is yet to feature this season after sustaining a long-term knee injury on the final day of the 2022/2023 Premier League campaign.

“Aaron Wan-Bissaka will take some weeks because he picked up another injury in training last week,” the Dutchman continued, as per Manchester Evening News. “Mason and Tyrell will take some more weeks. He [Malacia] had setbacks during his rehab process, it takes too long, it’s bad for him, bad for us. But now we turned a point and it’s positive and he will return soon on the pitch. It won’t take long before he’s returning in team training.”

Long-term absentees Anthony Martial and Lisandro Martinez remain unavailable as they continue rehabilitation for their respective groin and knee complaints.