Man Utd duo Pogba and McTominay 'very unlikely' to face Saints

 Man Utd duo Pogba and McTominay 'very unlikely' to face Saints

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says Paul Pogba and Scott McTominay are "very unlikely" to be fit for Manchester United's Premier League trip to Southampton on Sunday.

Pogba has been sidelined by an ankle injury, which the United boss revealed is not related to the issue that he struggled with last season.

McTominay also missed a 4-1 midweek Champions League win over Istanbul Basaksehir with an unspecified injury.

Solskjaer does not expect the midfield duo to be involved when the Red Devils go in search of a fourth consecutive win at the expense of the high-flying Saints.

There was better news of Marcus Rashford, Victor Lindelof and Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who were withdrawn in the victory over Basaksehir, but trained on Friday.

"Scott and Paul didn't train this morning," Solskjaer said on Friday. "They weren't on the grass, so look very unlikely for the weekend.

"Marcus, Victor, Aaron came through the session today, so hopefully they should be okay but still not 100 per cent."

Jesse Lingard is back in contention, having finished a period of self-isolation after coming into contact with an individual who tested positive for coronavirus, but Luke Shaw (hamstring) is not ready to return.

Donny van de Beek and Edinson Cavani caught the eye after being given the chance to start against the Turkish champions and Solskjaer suggested they will get another opportunity at St Mary's Stadium.

"Luke has just started his rehab, out on the grass, not out with the team yet. Jesse's back from his isolation period, so he had a couple of days training with the group. Apart from that, Phil Jones is out until after Christmas sometime," Solskjaer said.

"We played on Tuesday then don't have a game until Sunday, so it's been a long period for us, we managed to give the boys a day off during this difficult time. [Van de Beek and Cavani] will both be available to play and I'm sure if they do they'll be capable again."