Daniel James ruled out of Manchester United’s Europa League opener
Manchester United will be without Daniel James when they embark on their Europa League campaign tomorrow morning (Singapore time).
United, Europa League winners in 2017, will host Astana in Group L as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side face opponents from Kazakhstan for the first time in history.
| MANCHESTER UNITED | ASTANA |
James, who has scored three goals in five appearances for the Red Devils, picked up a knock during last Saturday's 1-0 win over Leicester City and has not trained since.
The Welsh winger joins Luke Shaw, Paul Pogba and Anthony Martial in the treatment room, though both Diogo Dalot and Jesse Lingard were back in training ahead of Astana game.
"He (James) got a knock against Leicester, so he won't be available," Solskjaer said.
"Luke, Paul and Anthony are still out. But Diogo is back, Jesse is back available. We are getting some back and losing some, that's the way it goes."
Solskjaer also hinted that Brazilian midfielder Fred will get a chance to "kick-start" his United career tomorrow.
Said the Norwegian: "Obviously, Fred came on and did well in the 20 minutes (against Leicester).
"We needed his legs and sharpness, and he's been patient. He's been working hard, he's not a young boy but he's still young in his English career and, hopefully, he will kick-start his season tomorrow.
"I'm sure we'll see more of Fred. He's had some great games last season with Scott (McTominay) against Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal, for example, and we're just waiting for that to flourish."
The United manager also confirmed there would be starts for Axel Tuanzebe, back-up goalkeeper Sergio Romero and 17-year-old striker Mason Greenwood.
Last season's finalists Arsenal kick off their campaign with a visit to German side Eintracht Frankfurt.
Wolverhampton Wanderers, in their first European campaign since 1980, will meet Portuguese club Braga in their opening game at Molineux.
The Gunners will be without Alexandre Lacazette, the Frenchman facing six weeks out after picking up an ankle injury before the recent international break.
Konstantinos Mavropanos, Hector Bellerin and Kieran Tierney are all back in training, but are not yet ready to return to Unai Emery's matchday squad.
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