Leny Yoro is not involved for Manchester United against Chelsea tonight because of injury.
Yoro had been expected to feature at Stamford Bridge, taking up the role as the more senior central defender with both Harry Maguire and Lisandro Martinez unavailable due to suspension.
However, the Frenchman’s involvement was placed in serious doubt on Friday as he was not spotted with the Man United squad that had travelled down to London.
Fears that Man United’s central defensive crisis had deepened has since been confirmed as Yoro has been left out of the matchday squad named by head coach Michael Carrick.
It is not known yet whether the 20-year-old will be in contention for a return to action as Man Utd face Brentford a week on Monday.
Discussing Yoro’s absence, Carrick said: “Hopefully it’s only [a] small [issue] but he’s obviously not ready for tonight.
“It’s part of football, you know. We’ve got a pretty good squad, in terms of injuries really. There’s Leny, there’s Matthijs, who’s out for a bit longer, and there’s Patrick [Dorgu].
“It’s the two suspensions so all of a sudden there’s less options at centre-back. We can adapt and we can make the most of it.
“It’s an important game tonight, so we’ll get ready for that.”
In Yoro’s place, Carrick has been forced into a reshuffle. It would appear that Luke Shaw is set to partner youngster Ayden Heaven in central defence, though it could also be Noussair Mazraoui in the middle.
There is good news for the visitors as Kobbie Mainoo has shaken off a minor knock to feature in west London. The midfielder missed the 2-1 loss to Leeds on Monday night, but is fit enough to reclaim his spot from Manuel Ugarte.
