The injury crisis is lifting! A bit! Possibly!

Good news. Or at least, reports of good news. According to the usually-pretty-reliable Mark Ogden in the Telegraph, Manchester United's injury crisis is easing, just a little bit.

Ogden information is that three players, Phil Jones, Jonny Evans and Radamel Falcao, will be fit to take their place in the match squad for Sunday's game against Arsenal in London. With the return of Chris Smalling from suspension, this could mean that United have, for the first time in living memory, options in defence. Obviously, the value of those options is up for debate, but let's not be too ungrateful. Defenders playing in defence. What a world.

As for the more recent injuries, apparently United are still hopeful that David de Gea may be fit for Sunday, and Michael Carrick, who had to withdraw from the England squad with a delicate groin, may also be feet. But Daley Blind, who is set to undergo a scan at Carrington, is expected to miss at least a month with suspected damage to his knee cartilage.

Confirmation or otherwise will have to wait until at least Friday, when Louis van Gaal holds his usual pre-game press conference, and may not come until the squad itself is named. The manager has said in the past that he is reluctant to throw recently injured players back into the fray too quickly, so perhaps discretion will end up carrying the day. We wait and see.