Rangnick gives Ronaldo & Manchester United team news updates

The Red Devils missed Ronaldo and three other stars for the FA Cup win over Aston Villa on Monday, but expect them to return this weekend.

Cristiano Ronaldo, Jadon Sancho, Harry Maguire, and Phil Jones are all set to return for Manchester United’s trip to Aston Villa on Saturday.

The quartet played it safe on Monday by missing the 1-0 third-round FA Cup win over Steven Gerrard’s side on Monday to recover properly from their respective muscular problems.

But they all trained together on Thursday, leaving interim manager Ralf Rangnick confident he can recall them for this weekend’s Premier League match.

Cristiano Ronaldo vs Aston Villa in the Premier League:

👕 9 starts
⚽️ 8 goals
🅰️ 3 assists

The Villans’ Villain. 🇵🇹😏 pic.twitter.com/jDYT4CLfEs

— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) January 14, 2022

‘They should be available for tomorrow’

“I think they will be available,” said the German in a pre-match press conference, when asked for news about Ronaldo, Sancho, and Maguire in particular.

“They only trained yesterday for the first time. Cristiano yesterday, Harry the day before yesterday. We have to wait for the final session this afternoon but as it seems right now, they should be available for tomorrow [Saturday].”

Who is missing?

Manchester United left-back Luke Shaw and midfielder Scott McTominay will miss the match due to suspension, having accumulated five yellow cards in the Premier League each.

Alex Telles and Nemanja Matic could replace the pair respectively for this weekend.

Paul Pogba, meanwhile, remains sidelined from a groin injury he sustained while on international duty with France last year. Eric Bailly is away at the Africa Cup of Nations with the Ivory Coast.