Solskjaer concerned over McTominay injury, unworried about Maguire
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer discussed injuries to Scott McTominay and Harry Maguire.
Published : Nov 08, 2019 09:56 IST
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer confirmed Scott McTominay suffered an ankle injury in Manchester United's win over Partizan Belgrade, while he played down concerns over Harry Maguire.
United booked its spot in the Europa League last 32 thanks to Thursday's 3-0 win, which came thanks to goals from Mason Greenwood, Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford. McTominay came off during the second half of the victory due to an ankle injury, while Maguire was also a worry.
But while he has fewer worries about Maguire, United manager Solskjaer confirmed some concerns surrounding McTominay.
READ | Pogba closing in on Man United return
"I think Harry will be okay. He finished the game anyway," he told MUTV. "Scott is more of a concern, so let's see how he recovers in the next few days.
"He said he was going to be okay out on the pitch and he said 'I'll be fine'. He's tough, but he had to come off. I hope he'll recover for Sunday, but I don't know. Inside of his ankle. I think he went over on his ankle."
Sitting 10th in the Premier League table, United hosts Brighton and Hove Albion on Sunday.
The win over Partizan gave Solskjaer's men a boost and the performance of his young attack featuring Greenwood, Rashford and Martial was particularly pleasing for the manager.
"The reason we put the three of them together is that we know they are a dangerous trio, with players behind them who can provide chances," he said.
WATCH | Gary Neville: Liverpool fans sang about my mum
"Well done to Mason for a very, very calm finish. He was composed and waited for the keeper. The second one was from Anthony and was probably the skill of the night.
"Then it was great to see Marcus finishing with his left foot. He will get into those positions quite often in a game. For him to go on the outside, on his left, it is not great for defenders to see.
"It is good for us because he can go inside on his right and then finish with his left."
'Europa League form must lead to Premier League improvement'
Solskjaer has acknowledged United must now take its Europa League form into the Premier League, demanding his side — which sits 10th with just three wins so far — shows improvement domestically.
"That's the foundation, it's a platform to perform from," Solskjaer told beIN SPORTS . "We know we've worked on defending this year and have been solid, we just want to see more of this in the Premier League. Score goals, create chances and see smiles on the players' faces.
ALSO READ | Solskjaer: Man United might not sign anyone in January
"Parts of the game were really good, parts of the performance were really high quality. You want to see five or six or seven [goals] but at times I think maybe some players started thinking of Sunday, started to recover a bit and we were a bit sloppy at the end but at times we looked really dangerous.
"First 10 or 15 minutes we should have buried the game and it should have been over by then, but we managed to get the goals and got the clean sheet which is always important for confidence for the goalkeeper and back four. Now we can just look forward to Sunday.
"Very happy [with qualifying]. It means in the last two games we can give game time to other players that need it, some players will come back from injury, so we'll use them to of course try to win the group, but it makes me think about resting a few anyway."