Both defenders unavailable for trip to Chelsea but “decision to be made” on Kobbie Mainoo, says interim boss
Michael Carrick believes Manchester United have a lot of reasons to be disappointed with refereeing decisions but have to move on, after suspensions ruled out Harry Maguire and Lisandro Martinez for Saturday’s trip to Chelsea.
United are currently third in the Premier League and pushing for a return to the Champions League, but they will be without both centre-backs at Stamford Bridge. Matthijs de Ligt also remains sidelined with a long-term injury, leaving Carrick with only two young defenders in Leny Yoro and Ayden Heaven for the match against Liam Rosenior’s Blues.
Martinez was sent off in Monday’s 2-1 defeat to Leeds United after an incident involving Dominic Calvert-Lewin, resulting in a three-match ban for violent conduct. Maguire is also suspended after his red card against Bournemouth, with the Football Association adding an extra game to his ban.
“To be honest, there’s not much we can react to,” said Carrick. “Massively disappointed, of course. I think I’ve had a few reasons to be disappointed in a big way over those types of situations over the last couple of weeks or three weeks.
“But obviously now we’ve got to move on. The decisions have been made, it’s something that we’re really disappointed with in many ways, but that’s it now. We’ve got to move on and we will do.”
Carrick had described Martinez’s dismissal as “one of the worst I’ve seen” after the match, though he declined to confirm whether the club formally appealed the decision. He confirmed the defender will not feature against Chelsea.
“We’re obviously disappointed,” Carrick said. “We didn’t agree with it. I think it was pretty obvious how I felt after the game, and I still feel that way.
“Yeah, listen, I don’t want to go into it now. I think it is what it is. We’ve been hit with some decisions and, at the end of the day, now we’ve got to accept it and move on, whether we like them or not.”
Asked if Martinez would be available for the Chelsea match, Carrick replied: “No.”
Elsewhere, Patrick Dorgu remains unavailable as he continues his recovery from a hamstring injury sustained in January, though Kobbie Mainoo could return after missing the Leeds defeat.
“Patrick’s going well,” Carrick said. “He’s rehabbing well. He’s kind of on track, but he’s not with us in terms of training yet, but he’s back on the pitch. That’s positive and he’s doing really well.
“Kobbie, we’re working towards it. He’s done a little bit, so there’s a decision to be made there.”
