Manchester United team news: Jose Mourinho set for selection dilemma for West Ham clash

Romelu Lukaku faces a race to recover from his ankle injury in time for the FA Cup final

Wednesday 09 May 2018 14:49 BST
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Mourinho's side face West Ham on Thursday
Mourinho's side face West Ham on Thursday (Manchester United)

Manchester United will be without Romelu Lukaku and Marouane Fellaini for Thursday's trip to the London Stadium.

Lukaku faces a race to recover from his ankle injury in time for the FA Cup final, while Fellaini has suffered a muscle problem but could return for the last Premier League match of the season against Watford on Sunday.

The Belgian striker gave an optimistic update on Tuesday about his prospects of recovering from an ankle injury in time for the clash with Chelsea at Wembley, and Mourinho said: "That's what we try."

Mourinho also revealed club captain Michael Carrick will start the last game of the league season against Watford at Old Trafford on Sunday in what is set to be his final appearance.

The 36-year-old midfielder, who signed for the Red Devils back in 2006, will retire at the end of the season and take up a first-team coaching position.

"He will start the last match. Old Trafford, last match of the Premier League, our captain in front of our fans," he said.

"The most important quality is to be a man - MAN capitals. He's a proper man. Football is not full of them, and not just football, society's not full of them, so when you find one of them, you have to value and you have to keep.

"In this case, it's not about me, it's about the club. The club had a great man for many, many years playing football and now when his body says it's enough, the club and myself we want to keep the man.

"Of course he has qualities that we believe can make him a good coach and there are many ways to do the bridge between player and coaching staff. In this case we decided it's just to change the shirts, to change dressing rooms and offices and to stop being a player and to be an assistant.

Lukaku will miss United's two remaining Premier League games (Getty)

"I think the way I work with my assistants, I give them very good conditions for their evolution and I think Michael can be very positive for us."

Forward Alexis Sanchez and defender Phil Jones are available after both missing the defeat by Brighton last Friday.

Provisional squad: De Gea, Romero, Valencia, Darmian, Shaw, Young, Lindelof, Smalling, Jones, Rojo, Bailly, Matic, Carrick, Pogba, McTominay, Herrera, Mata, Lingard, Martial, Sanchez, Rashford.

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