Reporters gathered at the Aon Training Complex in Carrington this afternoon to hear from Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho ahead of the big match against Watford this weekend where he gave some early team news.
Tomorrow's tie presents a big opportunity for the Old Trafford club to move up the Premier League table for the first time in 167 days, since the 1-0 away win against Hull City back in August 2016, as top four rivals Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur go head to head at Anfield later on in the day.
Phil Jones out, Wayne Rooney in
Mourinho has confirmed that Phil Jones is still not available for selection in Saturday's Premier League fixture after going off early as, what seemed like, a precaution in the 55th minute of the disappointing 0-0 home draw against Hull last week. The injury is suspected to be a bruised foot and also kept him out of Manchester United's recent 3-0 victory over champions Leicester City at the King Power Stadium.
Wayne Rooney is back in contention as expected after overcoming illness which forced him to stay at home when the squad travelled down to the Midlands on Sunday afternoon. The England and United captain, however, hasn't yet started a league game in 2017 so it's likely that he'll return to the bench as Zlatan Ibrahimovic continues to be Jose's main man at the spearhead of the Red's attack.
Marcos Rojo's status unknown
There has been no sign of in-form centre-back Marcos Rojo in this week's training images, sparking rumours that the Argentine is also experiencing a spell on the sidelines but Jose Mourinho didn't mention his name among the sole absentee Jones so he remains a doubt for now. Even if Rojo is injured as well it shouldn't be too much of a problem for Mourinho since Eric Bailly has now returned from the African Cup of Nations and is ready to go.