In a surprise move, Manchester United have left Jonny Evans out of their Europa League squad to face Fenerbahce on Thursday night. The veteran centre-back was drafted back into the United starting lineup for the recent Premier League clash with Aston Villa, putting in a player of the match performance, and retained that place for the subsequent win over Brentford after the international break. However, he suffered a knock against the Bees and wasn’t deemed fit enough for selection, failing to board the flight to Istanbul among the 20-player group chosen by Erik ten Hag.
Evans’ exclusion from the squad comes as a surprise given his recent form, but the club has confirmed that he suffered a knock and wasn’t fit enough to participate in the game. Meanwhile, there is also positive news for United fans, as Casemiro and Matthijs de Ligt, who both suffered knocks in the Brentford win, have fully recovered and are likely to feature against Fenerbahce.
The injury crisis at full-back also appears to be nearing its end, with Tyrell Malacia taking part in the full team training session at Carrington, while Luke Shaw continued his ongoing recovery with individual work. Additionally, youngsters Harry Amass, Ruben Curley, Jack Kingdon, Sam Mather, Habeeb Ogunneye, and Ethan Wheatley all trained with the first team, with Amass, Ogunneye, and Wheatley forming part of the traveling group to Istanbul.
United will be aiming to secure their first win of this Europa League campaign, having drawn with FC Twente and Porto in the competition so far. The team will be looking to bounce back from their first loss of the season, which came against Manchester City, and get back on track in the Europa League.
With a strong team likely to take to the field, United fans will be expecting a strong performance and a much-needed win against Fenerbahce.
