Man Utd handed major injury boost ahead of Crystal Palace clash

Erik ten Hag has been handed a major boost following Diogo Dalot's return to fitness ahead of Manchester United's clash against Crystal Palace.

The Red Devis host the Eagles on Saturday as Ten Hag seeks revenge for their last encounter in January.

Crystal Palace snatched a 1-1 draw after Michael Olise scored a stunning free-kick in stoppage time to ensure the points were shared at Selhurst Park.

Days later, they suffered a 3-2 loss to the Gunners, leaving them level on points with Newcastle in fourth and 11 points adrift of league leaders Arsenal.

The players have had a busy schedule recently, being the only club to remain in both of England's cup competitions.

A 3-1 win over Reading on Saturday ensured progression into the quarter final of the FA Cup. That was before they beat Nottingham Forest 2-0 in the second leg of the EFL Cup semi-final on Wednesday, setting up a tasty looking final against Newcastle.

Ten Hag hints at squad rotation

In a huge boost for Ten Hag, Dalot returned to training on Thursday, the club confirmed via their website.

In his absence, Aaron Wan-Bissaka has stepped in at right-back, starting nine of United's last ten games. However, the 25-year-old came under a storm of criticism following his performance against Arsenal.

In more good news for fans, both Jadon Sancho and Anthony Martial came off the bench following spells away, providing the Ten Hag with further options in attack.

The United boss has suggested he will continue to rotate his forward line during games, as he did on Wednesday when he substituted all three attacking players.

Speaking after Wednesday's win, the Dutchman said: "I think I could do that for future games coming up.

"To bring them in but also to rest the others because we need the energy everywhere but definitely the forward line is where we want to score goals."

“The problem is they are not always available, until now," he said of Sancho and Martial.

"We made a lot of compromises during the season so far. So, hopefully, we come to a point where everyone is available and to win trophies, they have to be available because you need them all because you have so many games to cover.

"And also, you see tonight [Wednesday], you can do something from the bench and you can bring in a different dynamic from the bench."

Scott McTominay, Donny van de Beek and Christian Eriksen are all sidelined due to injury. However, the arrival of Marcel Sabitzer from Bayern Munich will provide some much needed cover in midfield.

Meanwhile, United goalkeeper Jack Butland is ineligible to play against his parent club Crystal Palace due to the terms of his loan deal.

Topics: Manchester United, Erik Ten Hag, Diogo Dalot, Anthony Martial, Jadon Sancho, Crystal Palace, Premier League

Joe Adams

Joe is a Journalist for SPORTbible with a primary focus on football. He has previously covered a number of other sports including boxing, rugby and F1. Wishes he was born left-footed.

@joeadamsjourno