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(Reuters) – Edinson Cavani’s hopes of making his Manchester United debut against former club Paris St Germain in the Champions League were dashed after the Uruguayan forward was left out of the traveling squad on Monday.
United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer confirmed that Cavani, as well as captain Harry Maguire, Mason Greenwood, Eric Bailly and Jesse Lingard missed the trip to the French capital for Tuesday’s group stage opener.
Solskjaer confirmed that Cavani still needs to improve his fitness, while Maguire has suffered a minor blow.
“We hope the players are not out for long,” Solskjaer told a news conference. “Edinson needs a few more days of training before we can think about the weekend (against Chelsea).
“Hopefully Harry, Eric, and Mason too, but I’m not sure about that.”
Cavani, who joined United on a free transfer after his contract with PSG expired last season, had to isolate himself for 14 days upon arrival in the UK.
The 33-year-old finished his stint in Paris as the French club’s most prolific scorer with 200 goals, but has not played since March, before the league season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Teenage forward Greenwood will not play at Parc des Princes, the stadium where he made his United debut in 2019. But Solskjaer stressed that the English international could bounce back from his minor injury in United’s clash with Chelsea on Saturday in the Premier League.
In Maguire’s absence, United’s playmaker Bruno Fernandes will be the team’s captain for the first time, which he discovered while sitting next to his coach at the press conference.
“I was not expecting this,” Fernandes said. “Being captain of Man United is an important achievement. But everyone must be a leader. Tomorrow is not about me, it is the team.
After moving to United from Sporting Lisbon in January, Fernandes helped the club make a late charge to finish third in the Premier League last season.
The Portuguese midfielder has already scored three goals this season, including a crucial goal in Saturday’s 4-1 win over Newcastle United.
“I’ve played well the last few months, I can do much better,” he said. “I know my numbers are good, but I’m sure I will do better.”
(Reporting by Hardik Vyas in Bengaluru, edited by Pritha Sarkar)
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