Manchester United could be without a number of first-choice defenders when they welcome Barnsley to Old Trafford in the EFL Cup on Tuesday.
Manager Erik ten Hag was forced to withdraw Lisandro Martinez, Noussair Mazraoui and Matthijs de Ligt late on in their 3-0 win over Southampton on Saturday, but the latter should be fine to make the matchday squad.
Speaking after the game, De Ligt told TNT Sports: "I'm fine, I just had a little cramp in the last four minutes. It's the first time in probably five months that I've played three in a row".
Therefore, even with potential injuries elsewhere, Ten Hag may opt to rest his Dutch compatriot for this one, even if Martinez is also absent.
The Man United manager could not provide any additional information on Martinez or Mazraoui apart from stating that both will be assessed ahead of Tuesday's third round clash.
That makes it very likely that Harry Maguire and Jonny Evans will start as Man United's centre-back pairing, but they are much lighter in the full-back area.
Seventeen-year-old Harry Amass could be called up to appear if Martinez and Mazraoui are not fit, and he already has experience of playing Barnsley this season, as he featured in the EFL Trophy win for United's Under-21s last month.
Another young prospect likely to get minutes here is Toby Collyer, who was an unused sub at the weekend, but gave a pleasing performance in difficult circumstances when brought on in the 3-0 defeat to Liverpool before the international break.
Collyer replaced Casemiro in that disappointing defeat, and the Brazilian was dropped for the trip to St Mary's, but he could come back into the side here considering it is unlikely he will start many more league games going forward.
The long-term replacement for 32-year-old is set to be new signing Manuel Ugarte, and the Uruguayan could make a full debut here after being given a late run out against Southampton.
Victor Lindelof is close to making a return to the side, but Ten Hag has confirmed that Rasmus Hojlund, Luke Shaw and Mason Mount are not ready to return for this cup tie.
Speaking after the Southampton win, Ten Hag revealed: "We need everyone and hopefully players are returning. It will not be the case for the next game, but hopefully in the next weeks they [Hojlund, Mount, Shaw] will return to the squad."
Out wide, Antony, who has played just one minute of football this season, may start, with Alejandro Garnacho starting on the opposite side after his goal late on at the weekend.
Ten Hag was reluctant to replace goalkeeper Andre Onana even in the cups last season, and he is set to start again ahead of Altay Bayindir following his penalty-saving heroics on the South Coast.
Manchester United possible starting lineup:
Onana; Dalot; Maguire, Evans, Amass; Casemiro, Ugarte, Collyer; Antony, Zirkzee, Garnacho
Andrew Delaney
