Erik ten Hag gives early update on Manuel Ugarte, Rasmus Hojlund and Luke Shaw availability

Erik ten Hag gives early update on Manuel Ugarte, Rasmus Hojlund and Luke Shaw availability

New Man United signing Manuel Ugarte is eligible to make his Manchester United debut against Southampton.

However, Luke Shaw and Rasmus Hojlund will not play. The Red Devils signed Uruguay international Ugarte from Paris Saint-Germain on August 30th, paying an initial £42 million, capping off a protracted summer hunt.

Despite not having played a club match since May, the 23-year-old has been very active for his country, starting two World Cup qualifying matches for Uruguay in the past week.

The midfielder has only been back in Manchester since Thursday, but Ten Hag is pleased with his health and claims he will be ready for Saturday’s 12.30 p.m. kickoff.

‘Manuel Ugarte, you will have seen he played for Uruguay, he returned this afternoon [Thursday], he was the only player who returned today, the rest yesterday, so he is available for this game,’ the Manchester United manager told a press conference.

However, it is not such good news for injured pair Hojlund and Shaw, with neither making it back to fitness in time for the weekend.

Neither the Danish forward nor the English left-back has appeared yet this season, with Hojlund suffering with a hamstring problem and Shaw out with a calf injury.

Both are expected to be back by the end of the month, but will not feature at St Mary’s this weekend.

Manchester United were beset by injury problems last season and continue to struggle to keep players fit this campaign.

Also sidelined are Leny Yoro, Tyrell Malacia, Mason Mount and Victor Lindelof.

Bruno Fernandes was briefly a concern over the international break as he limped off at the end of Portugal’s win over Scotland, but he confirmed: ‘It’s okay. It’s just a little bump.’