Manchester United make Bryan Mbeumo and Noussair Mazraoui decision ahead of Brighton game
Darren Fletcher has ruled out the possibility of Noussair Mazraoui or Bryan Mbeumo featuring for Manchester United against Brighton in the FA Cup third round this weekend. One of the duo will be returning to Old Trafford as they face off in an Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final in Rabat on Friday evening. Mazraoui's Morocco face Mbeumo's Cameroon in the tie, with the winners guaranteeing they will be at the competition for the final week.That means the winner will miss the Manchester derby next weekend, but Fletcher has confirmed the loser won't be rushed back to feature against the Seagulls on Sunday afternoon. "I don't think so. I think it's too close a turnaround, so we'll have the same players available for the game as we had against Burnley," said Fletcher."So no new additions and, yeah, Bryan and Nous will not be available for the game." Fletcher confirmed that there would be no new faces in the squad to the group who drew with Burnley on Wednesday night, with Matthijs de Ligt still sidelined by a back injury.Harry Maguire was a surprise returnee to the squad at Turf Moor after two months out with a thigh injury and Fletcher confirmed he will be managed carefully."He has been out for a while, so it'd probably be looking at his load and things like that," said Fletcher. "That decision's not been made, but I think you've seen the players coming back the other night."You've seen Mason, you've seen Kobbie, you've seen Bruno. There has to be some understanding of their first minutes. They might have to be careful a little bit with that process to build back in. So I think Harry will probably be in that situation for the weekend."Mainoo made his return from a calf injury at Turf Moor and looks set to stay at the club this month, having considered his future under Ruben Amorim, and Fletcher believes the academy graduate is settled again."He seems in a good place. Kobbie doesn't give you much, so you wouldn't know if he was in a good place or not so good. He's like that, that's his natural way," he said."But I know him well, and I've known him for a long time. I've seen him around the building and around different places. He's not so much about the building, but you see people around."I've had conversations with him in general. But he's in a good place. I know Kobbie, and I think he knows me. He knows Travis Binion, so he's comfortable with his environment. He's in a good place, he's trained well, and as I said, he's hard to read, Kobbie."
