Carrick has no concerns over Martínez commitment as Dorgu returns but misses Roma
Michael Carrick says he has no doubts about Lisandro Martínez’s commitment, and the defender is set to stay in the side when Manchester United welcome Roma to Old Trafford tonight, a few days after his red card at Stamford Bridge.
Martínez was fined by the club for his recent public comments about director of football Jason Wilcox, and then saw red in Saturday’s 2-0 loss at Chelsea. Because that dismissal came in the Premier League, the one-match ban will be served against Aston Villa on Sunday, so he remains available for the Champions League tie.
Speaking at Carrington on Monday, the head coach was firm. “I’ve got no concerns about commitment at all,” Carrick said, in comments reported by the Guardian. “Things happen in football, sometimes you do things, sometimes you make a decision, sometimes you make mistakes, sometimes it goes well for you, but the commitment is not an issue.”
Dorgu back, but not for Roma
According to the club’s official team news, Patrick Dorgu has returned to full training after the hamstring problem he picked up on international duty with Denmark. The Dane will not be involved this evening, though, as he is not yet ready for match action.
Leny Yoro is free to play again in Europe after sitting out the defeat in Como through suspension, although the Frenchman was seen with some strapping during Monday’s session. Amad, who came off at Stamford Bridge, and Harry Amass both trained with the group.
The absentees are familiar. Luke Shaw, Marcus Rashford and Benjamin Šeško are all missing, with Šeško not expected back until January. Manuel Ugarte is also sidelined with injury.
“I genuinely can’t wait”
United go into the game nine matches without a win, their longest such spell in 38 years, and they sit 21st in the league phase after losing away to both Atlético Madrid and Como. Carrick, who said after the Chelsea game that he still expected to be in charge for Roma, refused to look beyond this week.
“I can’t look into the future, I don’t know what’s going to happen,” he said. “You might think I’m crazy with the results we’ve had and what’s going on, but I genuinely can’t wait for the game tomorrow and that’s all I’m focused on.”
Mainoo backs the boss
Kobbie Mainoo also faced the media on Monday and spoke warmly about the coach who has trusted him since taking over in January. “I’m very grateful to the boss for putting the trust in me, as soon as he came in, and putting that belief in me and giving me all the advice that he has,” the midfielder said, in quotes carried by ManUtd.com.
The 21-year-old also addressed the boos that greeted the players after the 3-0 home loss to Bournemouth. “In these tough times you can’t expect the fans 100,000% of the time to be happy and cheering when we’re not putting out results,” he said. “We owe it to them to put the results out there for them to cheer again.”
Roma arrive in Manchester with their own fitness worries. Paulo Dybala, Lorenzo Pellegrini and Manu Koné are the biggest doubts for Gian Piero Gasperini, while former United Academy goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini is in line to continue in goal. Kick-off at Old Trafford is 20:00 GMT.
