Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has revealed Jesse Lingard and Anthony Martial are doubts for the FA cup clash against Chelsea after the duo picked up knocks in the Champions League loss to Paris Saint Germain on Tuesday night. The duo limped out of Tuesday night’s Champions League defeat against PSG and will be assessed in the next couple of days.
Lingard and Martial were forced off with muscle problems and they now face a race against time to be ready for the fifth round tie at Chelsea on February 24. Boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is keeping his fingers crossed the pair don’t face extended spells out.
He said: “Jesse and Anthony give us something, let’s hope they’re not too serious. They’re muscle injuries, so we’ll just have to wait a couple of days. “They [PSG] had the momentum after the first goal and controlled the game. You could see that we hadn’t played at this level for a while and we will have to learn.
Solskjaer also said forward Alexis Sanchez “needs to find himself” at Manchester United. The Chilean was brought on just before half-time of United’s 2-0 defeat against PSG on Tuesday night in the Champions League last 16 first leg, but was largely ineffective for the hosts. Solskjaer said after the game that he “can’t do anything” about the 30-year-old, inferring that it’s up to the player to perform. “I can’t do anything about Alexis Sanchez, when he plays, he needs to find himself, because we know there is a quality player there,” Solskjaer said.
Sanchez has started just once in the Premier League for United under Solskjaer, but has made the XI in both FA Cup games against Reading and Arsenal.
He may get more of a chance in the coming weeks after both Jesse Lingard and Anthony Martial were taken off with injuries at Old Trafford. United have some vital fixtures coming up; first they face Chelsea in the FA Cup fifth round on Monday night, before a home clash with Liverpool on Super Sunday