Seven players sidelined as United and City head into derby with mounting injury concerns

Manchester United will be without at least six players for Sunday’s Premier League derby against Manchester City at Old Trafford, with Luke Shaw also in doubt after being given an extra recovery day ahead of the fixture.

United head coach Michael Carrick confirmed at his pre-match press conference that Matthijs de Ligt, Amad, Manuel Ugarte, Tom Heaton and Carlos Baleba are all sidelined, while Marcus Rashford — who went off early in the 2-2 draw at Everton — trained on Wednesday and was named as an unused substitute in the midweek Champions League win over Sabah.

Shaw’s availability remains uncertain. The 31-year-old left-back has been a key figure for United despite a history of injury problems, and Carrick said a decision on his fitness would be made by Friday. “We just gave him an extra recovery day today,” Carrick said. “We’ll see by tomorrow how he is, but it’s not an ongoing thing or part of a plan — it was simply off the back of the game the other day.”

De Ligt, who underwent back surgery in May, has not featured since late November. Carrick offered an encouraging update on the Dutch defender’s progress but stopped short of naming a return date. “Matta has trained really well. When you’re out for such a long period and you get to the final stages, you push and push, and you’ve got to manage that last step,” he said. “He’s on a good track, in a good place — hopefully it’ll be sometime soon.”

City arrive at Old Trafford unbeaten in the league this season, having beaten Coventry City 1-0 at the Etihad last weekend and FC Porto 2-0 in Europe. Their injury situation is considerably lighter, with Nico O’Reilly — who missed last week’s warm-up — confirmed as fully available. Jeremy Doku remains their sole absentee after feeling calf tightness during the Community Shield against Arsenal. City manager Enzo Maresca said the Belgian winger “needs more days” before returning.

The match is the first meeting between the two clubs this season and carries added significance for Carrick, who is eight months into his tenure as United head coach — a role he first stepped into on an interim basis in a previous Manchester derby.