Cavani and Martial ruled out of key clash between Man Utd and RB Leipzig

Both forwards were substituted during Saturday’s 3-1 Premier League victory at West Ham, where the Red Devils fought back from a half-time deficit to win through goals from Paul Pogba, Mason Greenwood and Marcus Rashford.

Manager Ole Gunnar Soslskjaer had hoped the injuries would be short-term but he confirmed on Monday that neither Cavani nor Martial will travel to Germany for Tuesday’s game.

There was some good news, however, with David de Gea available again after missing the West Ham win and Luke Shaw back in the travelling squad after missing a month of action with a hamstring problem.

“David’s back in, Luke is travelling, Edinson and Anthony [have] only minor niggles but they won’t be making the trip,” Solskjaer told reporters.

With Cavani and Martial out and Rashford battling a shoulder issue, much of the goalscoring burden will fall on 19-year-old Greenwood.

17 – No teenager has ever scored more goals in a single season in all competitions for @ManUtd than Mason Greenwood (17 – level with George Best in 1965-66, Brian Kidd in 1967-68 and Wayne Rooney in 2004-05). Esteem. pic.twitter.com/GiXnZsnZ5W

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) July 22, 2020

Greenwood has scored 20 goals in all competitions since the start of 2019-20, which is twice as many as any other teenager playing for a Premier League side.

However, minor injury problems and reports of concern around his application in training and recovery have limited his impact this term, with his strike against West Ham his only goal in seven league appearances.

Still, Solskjaer has full confidence in the forward as he prepares his side for a game knowing that a draw will be enough to guarantee their place in the last 16.

“Mason’s a very talented forward,” Solskjaer said. “He’s one of the best finishers I’ve worked with and when we can provide chances for him or he creates chances for himself with his movement, we’ve got a good chance for scoring goals.

“He’s still young, still learning and he’ll only improve with the quality and experience of the characters we have around him. He’s exciting to work with.

“You get to the last game of the group stage and you’re in the next round if you go and win that game or draw, so it’s an important game, of course it is.”

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