Manchester United interim boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will visit Cardiff City without centre forward Romelu Lukaku, with what could be termed his first headache as Manchester United boss.
Media handle Daily Mail has it that the Belgian forward missed training at Carrington training ground this week, having been granted a compassionate leave. The former Everton player would miss both the weekend game against Cardiff city and Huddersfield town, but will be back in return on Boxing Day.
This latest news will come as a huge blow to Solskjaer, who was appointed as the club’s new head coach on a caretaker basis until the end of the season earlier in the week, succeeding the sacked Jose Mourinho.
The Norwegian would surely have hoped to have his strongest squad to choose from for the trip to Cardiff, where he will need to get off to a good start with three points to start gaining the trust of the fans in his new role.
The Daily Mail reports that Lukaku should be ready to play against Bournemouth in their last match of the 2018 year, but between now and then United will have to make do without a recognized centre-forward.
In the absence of the Belgian, Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford are tipped to feature in the role having played in the same role during the early stages of their Manchester United careers.
According to the Daily Mail, the new Red Devils boss is expected to restore Pogba to the starting line-up against Cardiff City on Saturday, after he sat out the team’s last three fixtures amid reports of a dressing room discord with Mourinho.