Ole Gunnar Solskjaer refuses to risk Paul Pogba’s long-term fitness after admitting the Manchester United midfielder may not play over Christmas.
Pogba is still to fully recover from an ankle and foot injury that has kept him out since September.
Sunday’s game with Watford looks like it will come too soon, despite Solskjaer’s hopes he would be back over the festive period.
And the United manager insists he will not rush Pogba’s comeback.
“He’s training, but he’s not been training with us for long,” said the Norwegian. “He’s training and that’s a step forward for us.
“He needs time to get fit of course but he’ll make a difference for us.
“Let’s see how he feels. I’m not going push him, of course. What he feels, his ankle, we need him to be 100 percent fit. I can’t risk any setbacks on the injury.”
Eric Bailly is also nearing a comeback following knee ligament damage, while Diogo Dalot was set to play for the under 19s against AC Milan on Friday night.
Solskjaer believes he has the strength in depth to cope with the hectic Christmas schedule.
“I feel the squad is ready for it,” he told MUTV. “We’re physically ready for it and, mentally, we’re in a good moment as we’re getting some decent results.
“The fitness of many players, they’re coming back and we’re getting more and more competition for places.
“It’s important and why we’re rotating. We’re getting players back in training and it’s, more or less, a full squad training now. That’s good to see. Who is match fit and who isn’t is a different scenario.”
Possible United XI: De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Maguire, Shaw; McTominay, Fred; James, Lingard, Rashford; Martial
