Team News: Anthony Martial to miss Southampton match

Manchester United have confirmed that Anthony Martial will miss Saturday’s Premier League match against Southampton. The in-form striker, who has 2 goals in 3 games so far this season, was visibly struggling with a leg injury towards the end of last weekend’s loss to Crystal Palace. By the time Martial started hobbling, however, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had made all 3 allowed substitutions and the Frenchman had no choice but to see the game out.

With Martial injured, Romelu Lukaku sold, and Alexis Sánchez on the brink of a loan move to Inter, United’s options to spearhead the attack are limited. There could be a shuffle across the front line, with Marcus Rashford moving up front, Daniel James moving to the left flank, and Andreas Pereira getting reinstated to the starting XI on the right of the attack. Alternatively, Mason Greenwood could get his first start of the campaign as either Martial’s replacement up top, or in one of the wide positions. In any case, a knock on effect will likely be that Angel Gomes or Tahith Chong will earn a place on the bench to bolster the manager’s attacking options.

The club have also confirmed that Luke Shaw will be unavailable, and it has been previously reported that the full-back is set for a spell of up to 5 weeks on the sidelines. Ashley Young is set to start in his place.