Ronaldo included in Man Utd travelling party, as five senior stars sit out
Cristiano Ronaldo has been included in Manchester United’s 22-man party to face Young Boys in the Champions League.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has given his latest recruit the nod to travel for the opening Group F encounter in Switzerland on Tuesday night.
There will be five senior faces missing though. Striker Edinson Cavani is still not fit having missed the weekend’s win with a “knock” he picked up in training.
Therefore young striker Anthony Elanga is included in the party, as is 21-year-old goalkeeper Matej Kovar.
Cavani’s absence will not be felt too much with Ronaldo set to start. He expertly spearheaded the United attack against Newcastle and finished with two goals in the 4-1 win.
Ronaldo’s last Champions League appearance in a United shirt was in a 2-0 loss to Barcelona in the 2009 final.
But Solskjaer has insisted he will “manage the minutes” of the 36-year-old.
“The thing with Cristiano is that he looks after himself so much so I know he will recover quickly and he has had a pre-season,” said Solskjaer after the win over Newcastle. “Of course it’s important that we get everyone up and running and to get him up and running and to give him 90 minutes.
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Henderson sits out
“Of course there is a game on Tuesday (against Young Boys). We will see what we do. But no, it’s not impossible to leave him out. He is 36, Mason [Greenwood] is 19, so it’s the same, I have to manage his minutes, and I have to manage a 36-year-old’s minutes as well.”
Goalkeeper Dean Henderson, who played in a youth-team game at the weekend, will also miss out.
Alex Telles, Scott McTominay and Amad Diallo are also missing from the party that flew out on Monday morning.
Telles and McTominay have just recently returning to first-team training. Diallo suffered a thigh injury in training last month and he is still around a month away from a return.
READ MORE: Man Utd officials probed Ronaldo’s agent Mendes over transfer for contract rebel
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