Harry Maguire ruled out of FA Cup final as Erik ten Hag suffers fresh Man Utd blow
Manchester United defender Harry Maguire is out of Saturday's FA Cup final showdown.
Maguire's last game for United was a 1-1 draw against Burnley on April 27 and has failed to recover from a muscle injury in time to face Manchester City at Wembley.
The loss of Maguire is a blow to United boss Erik ten Hag, although he has been boosted by the return from injuy of central defensive duo Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane, the latter who will play his last game for the club before leaving.
“Harry Maguire is unavailable,” said Ten Hag. “He didn't heal as expected.
“Tomorrow is final training and then we make final decisions, but the way I see it now it looks good.”
Ten Hag also said United striker Marcus Rashford had come to terms with being left out of England's Euro 2024 squad, having scored just eight goals.
“He looks good,” said Ten Hag. “That is a career ups and downs, a down can also give you fuel and that is what I see in training.
“He will be highly motivated, so speak with your feet. He's highly intelligent, he's had a big career and I'm sure he will get over this and get more goals.”
Looking ahead to Saturday's final, Ten Hag said: “Every game I want to win and I just focus on this game as I do for every game, I know it's an important game as it's about a trophy.
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - APRIL 24: Harry Maguire of Manchester United celebrates scoring his team's first goal during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Sheffield United at Old Trafford on April 24, 2024 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
“An FA Cup final is a big event and we are there. We have an opportunity, we have to go for it and we will go for it.
“We have to believe, as we did last season, as we have done often against good opponents, if we play our best football and I expect that again on Saturday.”
Asked about his future, Ten Hag said: “I have nothing to say. I'm just focusing on the job I have to do and that is first win the game on Saturday and then keep going with the project.
“I came here to win trophies and Saturday is the next opportunity. After every season you review it and we will see where we are in the project.
“There are things we have to change, we spoke lately about it, but there are some very good things, players coming up, values coming up and on Saturday we have a big opportunity to win the next trophy.”
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