Manchester United head coach Erik ten Hag has revealed that both Victor Lindelof and Raphael Varane could be in the squad for Sunday's Premier League clash against Brighton & Hove Albion.
Lindelof has been missing since the end of March due to a hamstring problem, while Varane, who is leaving the Red Devils on a free transfer this summer, has been out with a muscular issue since the start of April.
Both players were again absent on Wednesday evening, as the 20-time English champions recorded a 3-2 victory over Newcastle United in the Premier League.
However, Ten Hag has said that the pair could be available for the final match of the league season against Brighton, which comes six days before the FA Cup final against Manchester City.
"I can't say in this moment [if anyone will return on Sunday] but we are working to bring players back," the Dutchman told reporters in his pre-Brighton press conference.
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Varane, Lindelof could feature against Brighton
"We have seen yesterday Licha Martinez [is back], he had a good session now as well. There were also others on the pitch like Rapha Varane, Victor Lindelof, they returned on the pitch.
"We have to see how far [off a return] they are on Sunday. Tomorrow we have off, Saturday we have training, and then we will see what we have."
However, Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw are again both expected to miss out this weekend, with the pair instead battling to be fit for the FA Cup final.
Mason Mount could also return to the squad against Brighton; Anthony Martial is also now available after recovering from a groin operation, but the Frenchman is out of contract this summer and is not expected to play again for the club.
Bruno Fernandes, Lisandro Martinez and Marcus Rashford all made their injury returns against Newcastle, while Willy Kambwala is now back to fitness after a spell out.
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Ten Hag's squad boosted ahead of FA Cup final
Ten Hag has spoken on numerous occasions about the club's injury situation in recent weeks, insisting that it is the main cause of their problems this season.
Casemiro and Jonny Evans have recently been used as the two centre-backs due to the problems in that area of the field, but Martinez and Kambwala are now back, and they could be joined by Varane and Lindelof for the clash with Brighton this weekend.
Man United will, of course, want to end a disappointing league season on a high, but the FA Cup final is the big one, and the Red Devils are set to have a much stronger squad for that fixture.
Winning the FA Cup would see Ten Hag's side qualify for next season's Europa League, and it would give them two domestic trophies in the last two campaigns.
Ten Hag will now be bidding to avoid any further fitness problems against Brighton on Sunday.
Matt Law
