Manchester United news: Trio to miss the Premier League clash against Burnley

Manchester United’s final game of 2021 is quickly approaching, with Burnley the final visitors to Old Trafford this calendar year. On Monday, the Reds drew 1-1 with a spirited Newcastle United side in the Premier League, their first game in 16 days due to a spate of positive COVID-19 tests that have hampered both fixtures and training routines. Ralf Rangnick and his team’s Christmas and New Year schedule is now about to heat up, with Burnley on Thursday – the second game in four days – and another home game against Wolves on Monday. Getting a point from a losing position at Newcastle might sound positive but the overall performance on Monday night was anything but encouraging.

It will be interesting to see how Manchester United will respond to that setback against Newcastle. Looking ahead to the next match, the Reds will be without at least three players for the Burnley clash, according to their club’s website. Earlier this week, Victor Lindelof was ruled out of the trip to St James’ Park owing to a positive COVID-19 test the day before the game, and the same result will keep him out of the upcoming game as well. 

Bruno Fernandes will be a big miss for Manchester United

Paul Pogba will also miss out because of a thigh injury that has kept him out for a while now. But the biggest blow will be in form of the Portuguese playmaker – Bruno Fernandes. He will be unavailable due to a one-match suspension after receiving his fifth yellow card of the Premier League season on Monday night. But it was not all negative. Beyond those three absentees, there was more positive news for Rangnick earlier this week.

After lengthy absences, the German was able to welcome back two key first-team players at Newcastle. Raphael Varane began the match on Tyneside, making his first appearance since being injured in a 2-2 draw with Atalanta in Bergamo in early November. The Frenchman went on to complete the entire 90-minute period, while Edinson Cavani played the entire second half after returning from his own injury difficulties.

The Uruguayan scored his second goal of the season in the North East to give Manchester United a draw, and fans would love nothing more than to see him start against Sean Dyche’s physically-demanding Burnley side. There were other worries, such as Scott McTominay looking to go down in pain before being replaced by Nemanja Matic with 12 minutes remaining. It will be interesting to see whether or not he is available for the Burnley test.