BREAKING NEWS:Rangnick offers fitness update ahead of United's clash with Watford.

 

BREAKING NEWS:Rangnick offers fitness update ahead of United's clash with Watford.

Ralf Rangnick has conducted his pre-match press conference ahead of Manchester United’s clash with Watford at Old Trafford.

The briefing was streamed at 1.15pm on the club’s official app as United prepare to return to Premier League action after their European excursions in midweek.

Rangnick was asked about the latest fitness news, after Scott McTominay and Edinson Cavani both missed the clash with Atletico Madrid in midweek.

The German confirmed that both men will be out of the game with Roy Hodgson’s side tomorrow afternoon as the situation has not improved enough.

“The situation is exactly the same,” Rangnick said on the subject of team news.

“He [Cavani] hasn’t been training with us so he won’t be available for tomorrow’s game and the same is true with Scotty.

“He is still ill, he hasn’t been training with us, so hopefully he will start training with us again next week, but for tomorrow’s game they will both be unavailable.”

McTominay was a big miss in Spain in terms of his physicality and discipline and it is a blow that he is absent here.

That said, United should be able to get by with a more creative midfield trio in a game where they will expect to dominate the ball.

Cavani’s prolonged absence is frustrating and after the January transfer business, United do not actually have loads of attacking alternatives.

It will be a bonus whenever he is back, but United should have enough firepower to beat a struggling Watford side without him.