Manchester United take on Athletic Club Bilbao on Thursday in the semi-finals of the UEFA Europa League and it will be a season-defining round for the Red Devils.
Ruben Amorim’s side are 14th in the Premier League and there is very little hope of them finishing inside the top ten.
Manchester United have now been handed a major boost in their chances of going past Athletic. That is because key player Oihan Sancet will miss the first leg.
El Correo have relayed information about the tie and they state that after the attacking midfielder picked up a muscle injury last week in a clash against Las Palmas, he underwent tests to determine the extent of the damage.
Athletic were initially confident that Sancet had suffered only mild damage, the test has revealed that he has picked up a hamstring injury that will keep him out for two to three weeks.
As a result, he will miss the first leg against Manchester United and could also miss the second leg at Old Trafford.
There is a possibility that the Basque club push Sancet to play the second leg but ideally, he would return for the La Liga game against Alaves on May 11.
Considering the 25-year-old’s goalscoring tally of 17 in all competitions this season, he would be a major miss for Athletic.
Manchester United would be hoping that they make the most of his absence, having beaten 10-men Lyon in the second leg of the quarter-finals.
