Fletcher rules Man Utd duo out of FA Cup clash

Darren Fletcher says neither Bryan Mbeumo or Noussair Mazraoui will be back involved for the FA Cup game against Brighton on Sunday.

Mbeumo and Mazraoui are currently away at the Africa Cup of Nations with Cameroon and Morocco respectively, and will face off in the quarter-final of the competition on Friday night.

It means the loser of the tie will then return back to Manchester, but interim boss Fletcher has ruled out either playing on Sunday due to it being such a quick turnaround.

“I don’t think so,” Fletcher said. “I think it’s too close a turnaround, so we’ll have the same players available for the game as we had against Burnley.

“So no new additions and, yeah, Bryan and Nous will not be available for the game.”

Defender Mathjis de Ligt is also expected to miss out again, while Fletcher says Harry Maguire’s return needs to be carefully managed.

“He’s been out for a while,” he said.

“We’re looking at his load, that decision has not been made. When you see the players coming back, you saw with Mason Mount, Kobbie Mainoo and Bruno Fernandes, there has to be some understanding with their first minutes. We might have to be a little careful with that process to build back.”