Athletic Bilbao could be without two key players for their Europa League semi-final second leg clash with Manchester United at Old Trafford on Thursday.
Athletic must overturn a three-goal deficit to qualify for the final in Bilbao later this month, but have several injury concerns ahead of the game.
According to Estadio Deportivo, forward Inaki Williams and midfielder Oihan Sancet did not train with their teammates today.
Williams is struggling with a muscle injury. He underwent an MRI test on Monday to determine its extent.
He has not yet been ruled out of the game, and manager Ernesto Valverde will give an update on his squad’s fitness at tomorrow’s pre-match conference.
Williams’ absence could affect Athletic as he is the club’s joint-top scorer in the competition with five goals.
Sancet could also miss out again. He was not involved in the first leg due to a ‘moderate muscle injury’ he suffered against Las Palmas late last month.
The Spanish midfielder missed the Basque derby against Real Sociedad over the weekend and has not trained this week.
Forward Nico Williams and midfielder Unai Gomez also did not attend today’s training session. However, the duo trained individually and should be fit enough for Thursday’s encounter.
Defender Oscar de Marcos, substituted in the first leg due to a muscle strain, should make the trip to England, having played against Sociedad.
United could be without Matthijs de Ligt as he was forced off due to an injury during the defeat at Brentford. After the game, manager Ruben Amorim expressed concern about his fitness.
Lisandro Martinez and Joshua Zirkzee will miss out, while the fitness status of Ayden Heaven and Toby Collyer is unknown.
Stats from sofascore.com.
