Manchester United duo ruled out of Atletico Madrid clash in Champions League

Michael Carrick has provided an update on the latest team news for Manchester United’s Champions League clash against Atletico Madrid.

The Red Devils travel to Madrid on Tuesday night to face La Liga side Atletico in their second Champions League game of the season.

United thumped Sabah 4-0 in their European opener but have gone four games without a win since then, only drawing with ten-man Tottenham last time out.

Manchester United’s poor form has even led to speculation Carrick’s job could be under threat less than six months after he got the job on a full-time basis.

A daunting trip to Atletico is sure to test the Premier League giants and Carrick will be without midfielder Kobbie Mainoo and defender Luke Shaw.

‘They’ve not travelled, they both picked up issues in the game on Saturday [against Spurs] and we were working through that, to see what that looks like,’ Carrick said at his pre-match press conference.

‘At the moment, they are not ready for the game tomorrow. But we’re not light on numbers, no. Of course, we’ve got a couple of issues with some players missing out but we’re definitely not light on numbers.

‘It’s good for Dan [Armer] to be part of it and for younger players to sample it, the build-up to the game, and get a sense of it.

‘It’s good to have Matta [Matthijs de Ligt] in and around it. We’ve had a little bit of patience with him, working through that and working hard to get to this stage. He’s had a long journey so we’re delighted to have him back.’

Carrick also revealed his captain, Bruno Fernandes, has been ‘carrying an injury’ at the start of the season amid slight concern over his performances.

‘Bruno is a top player and sometimes things don’t quite go for you, you know and sometimes you have a spell of that,’ Carrick added.

‘He’s done some incredible things for this football club and he’ll do the same in the future, there’s no doubt about it.

‘He was carrying something [an injury]. It happens a lot, people don’t realise it. I probably played 80% of the games through my career with issues. That’s how it is.

‘He is pretty much over it, but right now it’s not a major deal and he’s looking forward to the game.’

Asked whether Fernandes is ‘undroppable’, Carrick said: ‘This is not on Bruno, this line, but nobody is guaranteed a place in the team.

‘Don’t take that as me talking on Bruno, just in general. There’s a level of performance, behaviour, understanding we need as a squad to perform.

‘All the boys know that, they understand that, they’ve got their own standards and want to be at their best. That’s pretty clear.’

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