Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has explained that a number of his squad still need to get up to speed fitness wise amid some surprise selections for his starting line-up against Crystal Palace.
Manchester United play their first Premier League game of the season when they take on the Eagles at Old Trafford on Saturday, but some eyebrows were raised by the manager's first 11 ahead of kick-off.
£40m summer signing Donny van de Beek was one of those to be left on the bench, along with regular starters Mason Greenwood and Aaron Wan-Bissaka, while the likes of Timothy Fosu-Mensah and Daniel James were somewhat surprisingly included in the starting line-up.
Speaking to MUTV ahead of kick-off, Solskjaer said that his selection was mainly based around who he felt was 100% ready for the match after the short break between seasons.
"We've had a few players who have just been back for a short week with Monday the first day in training," he said.
"Some of them have been three weeks. So I felt we had to make those changes and I felt some of them had to wait a little bit longer before they were ready."
United fans may have been left especially disappointed by the absence of Van de Beek, but Solskjaer said they should expect to see him come off the bench at some point in the game.
When asked if he would make an appearance, Solskjaer responded: "That's for sure, one he’s a game changer if we need to but he’s also eager to go and he has qualities we need, even if the games doesn’t demand a change I think we’ll see him."
Rotation is expected at United in the coming weeks, with Solskjaer's side taking on Luton Town in the Carabao Cup third round on Tuesday before a trip to Brighton the following Saturday.
