Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney and Ashley Young will both be on the sidelines when the Reds take on relegation-threatened Sunderland on Sunday.
Rooney was ruled out of the 1-1 draw against Everton on Tuesday with sore ankles, while Young limped out in the second half of the same game, being replaced by Luke Shaw in the 65th minute.
Speaking at the pre-match press conference, manager José Mourinho confirmed that both men would join long-term absentees Juan Mata, Phil Jones and Chris Smalling on the sidelines for the trip to the Stadium of Light:
Wayne Rooney is not available and Ashley Young is injured. [There is] no more news, because [with] Mata, Smalling and Jones you already know that we are speaking about old injuries.
Despite the myriad of draws at Old Trafford that have blighted United’s charge to the top four in the Premier League, Mourinho took a positive spin on the 20-match unbeaten run that the Reds have racked up in the league.
He said:
It’s good to know that we have a fantastic run of 20 unbeaten matches in the Premier League. I know, as an example, 10 matches, 10 draws or 10 points, 10 matches with five victories is 15 points.
What is better? The 15 points, obviously. In terms of looking to the future, I prefer to look at 10 matches with 10 draws, you have something that is not easy to have. You are quite solid mentally, difficult to beat, fighting against difficult circumstances.
