Manchester United were hit with a double defensive injury blow as they bowed out of Europe on Tuesday.
Kingsley Coman’s second-half goal made it five wins out of six for Bayern Munich in Champions League Group A as United finished bottom of the table, missing out on even Europa League football.
The France winger made the most of a depleted Red Devils’ backline after Harry Maguire limped off towards the end of the opening period.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka then went through vigorous warm-ups during the interval and replaced England left-back Luke Shaw when the action resumed.
The injuries come at a terrible time for manager Erik ten Hag, who has seen his team lose three of their past four matches in all competitions without scoring a goal in any of those defeats. They have already lost 12 times this season, which is as many defeats as they suffered in the whole of 2022/23.
Next up is a trip to face bitter rivals Liverpool at Anfield, a Premier League fixture that United lost 7-0 in March and 4-0 the season before that. Shaw and Maguire would be big losses this Sunday.
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Will Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw miss Liverpool vs Man United?
At the moment, it is unclear whether either Maguire or Shaw will be available for Man United’s visit to Liverpool on December 17.
In a torrid season that took another wrong turn on Tuesday, Maguire’s redemption arc has been one of the few bright spots for United.
The England centre-back was afforded a shot at a sustained run of games following Lisandro Martinez’s setback in his rehabilitation from a broken metatarsal — which required a second operation in October — and Raphael Varane falling out of favour with Ten Hag.
Maguire was named Premier League Player of the Month for November but his resurgence was brought to a halt five minutes before halftime against Bayern when he pulled up with an apparent groin injury against Bayern.
After a brief conversation with Ten Hag, Maguire headed straight down the tunnel. The immediate signs for a possible Anfield recovery were not good at all.
United were already operating without Victor Lindelof, who was sidelined by an injury suffered during last week’s 2-1 win over Chelsea.
Ten Hag had brought Varane in from the cold for a first start since late October against Bayern. Maguire was replaced by Jonny Evans, the veteran squad-rotation option who has been keeping Varane out of the team of late. They look like the most likely centre-back pairing at Anfield this weekend.
Shaw, whether at left-back or as an occasional left-sided central defender, has been one of Ten Hag’s more reliable performers when fit.
However, this is a considerable caveat for a fine player who has been dogged by injury setbacks throughout his career.
Shaw suffered a muscular injury sustained during the opening weeks of this season and only recently returned from a three-month absence.
This was his eighth appearance of the season in all competitions and he appeared to be grabbing at his hamstring before halftime.
Instead of introducing natural left-back Sergio Reguilon — another player who has struggled for form and fitness — Ten Hag sent on Wan-Bissaka and switched Diogo Dalot from right-back to left-back.
The defence that started the second half against Bayern is the most likely to begin the first at Anfield, mainly for a lack of any other viable options.
Which other Man United players will miss the Liverpool game?
Captain Bruno Fernandes collected a petulant booking during the closing stages of Saturday’s 3-0 defeat to Bournemouth, his fifth caution of the Premier League campaign meaning a one-match ban will be served this weekend.
As well as being without their main creative threat on Merseyside, Ten Hag will have to run the rule over Marcus Rashford and Antony Martial after the pair missed the Bayern game due to illness.
Fellow forward Jadon Sancho remains frozen out of the first-team picture, while Ten Hag has also been decimated in midfield with Mason Mount (calf), Casemiro (hamstring) and Christian Eriksen (knee) all sidelined.
Like Martinez, left-back Tyrell Malacia (knee) is a long-term absentee.
