By Tom Gott
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has confirmed centre-back Harry Maguire will miss Saturday's FA Cup final through injury.
Maguire has been battling a muscle injury in recent weeks which brought his Premier League season to an abrupt end, but Ten Hag had been cautiously optimistic the 31-year-old would win his race against time to prove his fitness.
However, ahead of Saturday's meeting with Manchester City at Wembley, Ten Hag confirmed there would be no sign of Maguire.
"Yeah, Harry Maguire is unavailable," he confirmed. "It didn't heal as expected."
Maguire was named in Gareth Southgate's preliminary England squad for Euro 2024 this summer but will now have to prove his fitness to the Three Lions boss if he wants to make the final cut.
United remain without left-backs Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia, but Ten Hag revealed Mason Mount, Victor Lindelof and Anthony Martial are all back in contention to play.
"All of the players you mentioned are available," he explained. "Final training [on Saturday] and we make final decisions but the way I see it now it looks good."
United have battled an enormous injury list in recent weeks but their issues appear to be easing as Ten Hag prepares to name a team with two natural centre-backs for the first time since 13 April, when Maguire lined up alongside young Willy Kambwala.
With Lisandro Martinez, Raphael Varane and Jonny Evans all battling injuries, Maguire played significant minutes alongside under-fire midfielder Casemiro, who now seems set to return to his natural position.
This article was originally published on 90min.com as Erik ten Hag rules key Man Utd star out of FA Cup final through injury.
