Angel Di Maria has been confirmed as fit to feature in Manchester United’s crunch match against league leaders Chelsea on Sunday, after the club posted on their official Instagram account.
The Argentine was noted to be struggling with a thigh injury during the club’s recent 2-2 draw with West Bromwich Albion, and having been substituted as a result, was feared to miss his side’s biggest game of the season.
However, the £60 million signing has trained for the past two days, and will be available on Sunday to face Jose Mourinho’s side having only completed 76 minutes in United’s draw on Monday.
Sporting an ice pack after making way for Ashley Young, fans raised their concerns of potentially being without a number of attacking threats, with Wayne Rooney unavailable due to suspension, and Ander Herrera’s injury possibly ruling the Spaniard out of the fixture. Nevertheless, manager Louis Van Gaal has confirmed Di Maria’s availability, saying:
“It was not so heavy, he has trained. Only the first day [Tuesday] he doesn’t train.”
The Dutchman has also revealed that midfielder Michael Carrick featured in a development game in a bid to regain match fitness after his extensive injury. He added:
“I even let Michael Carrick this evening play in London against West Ham in the reserve team.
“I believe he needs that, he needs to play matches especially when you are five months injured. He said that it was his first experience in the second team.”