Three injured Man Utd stars miss training as Ruben Amorim takes look at youngsters

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Matthijs de Ligt, Benjamin Sesko and Harry Maguire were nowhere to be seen during Manchester United's training session at Carrington on Thursday. With United set to face Bournemouth in the Premier League on Monday, Ruben Amorim is expected to provide clarity on team news at his pre-match press conference.

Discussing De Ligt's injury following the Wolves match, Amorim remained cautious about his return: "I don't know, sometimes you have an idea then you have to see day by day. I'm not going to say when he is coming back."

The Dutch defender has been sidelined for the West Ham and Wolves fixtures due to his knock. While De Ligt wasn't involved in Thursday's training, he was present at Carrington fulfilling external media obligations.

Whether Sesko will be available for the Bournemouth clash remains uncertain. However, the striker's rehabilitation from a knee injury is reportedly progressing well, suggesting he could feature, reports the Manchester Evening News .

The Bournemouth fixture was initially targeted as a potential comeback date for Sesko following his injury against Tottenham on November 8. On November 21, Amorim offered an update, stating: "He is going to stay a few weeks out. I don't know how long, but it's not that serious. We have to be careful with him."

Maguire sustained a hamstring injury during the 2-2 stalemate against Tottenham. Last week, Amorim confirmed the England defender was "still out" with the issue.

The absence of senior players paved the way for Shea Lacey, Jack Fletcher and Tyler Fredricson to participate in the training session. Lacey has been included in the last four Premier League matchday squads.

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Manager Amorim has suggested that academy players will play a crucial role when he loses Bryan Mbeumo, Amad and Noussair Mazraoui to the Africa Cup of Nations next week.

Amorim stated: "I think it's going to be hard, but then that is the good thing of the experience, we lived so many limitations last year, because we changed in January, and we didn't bring the players.

"And then we had the injury of Amad for four months, all these things, so we are prepared for that, even it will be hard for us, but we have a different baggage to deal with that. And again, I think guys like Jack Fletcher, Shea, a lot of guys, they can step up, and we can send at the same time a message to everyone here, in the academy, that this is the future. But we are going to struggle and we have to be prepared for that."

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Speaking about Lacey's progress, Amorim added: "I'm really happy with him. I think he struggled a little bit with injuries, they did a very good job balancing his body, you can sense that he can manage more load during training.

"He has a lot of talent, but when they come here, they can sense the speed is completely different, so they need to spend more time with us to be prepared, because our trainings are hard, at Premier League games, with the pressure it's harder, so they need to be ready."

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