UNITED'S EARLY TEAM NEWS FOR THE SUPER CUP
SUPER CUP STORIES
05/08/2017 08:55, Report by Mark Froggatt
UNITED'S EARLY TEAM NEWS FOR THE SUPER CUP
The 2017/18 season officially kicks off for Manchester United on Tuesday night with the UEFA Super Cup tie against Real Madrid and there is plenty of intrigue surrounding Jose Mourinho’s starting XI in Macedonia.
The manager has plenty of decisions to make following the successful pre-season tour of the United States and Europe, in which the Reds looked impressive, sharp and fit throughout seven warm-up matches.
Eric Bailly will definitely miss out through suspension after UEFA extended his initial one-match ban to three games, following the red card he received against Anderlecht at Old Trafford back in April. Phil Jones is also unavailable due to another UEFA punishment that was announced earlier this week.
Juan Mata and Ander Herrera were the only players who picked up injuries during Tour 2017, presented by Aon, but both of the Spain internationals are now back in action.
Sergio Romero and United's scorer in the last game against Real Madrid, Jesse Lingard, did not travel to Dublin for the seventh and final tour match - Wednesday's 2-1 win over Sampdoria at the Aviva Stadium - so it will be interesting to see if they will feature in Skopje.
Luke Shaw, Marcos Rojo and Ashley Young are all making good progress in their rehabilitation, but the trio are still long-term absentees and will only be able to cheer on their team-mates on Tuesday.
WILL RONALDO PLAY FOR REAL?
WILL RONALDO PLAY FOR REAL?
Former United star Cristiano Ronaldo has yet to play a pre-season match for Real Madrid because he was afforded an extended summer break, having represented Portugal at the Confederations Cup as recently as 2 July. After initial suggestions he would definitely not feature in Macedonia, the latest reports claim he is now training hard in a bid to be drafted back into the squad in time to face his old club and former manager.
