Phil Jones could return to injury-hit defence vs Leicester City

Phil Jones is in contention of making his long—awaited return to Manchester United’s first team due to the injury crisis that has his Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s defence, leaving the manager without his two main centre-backs.

Harry Maguire was forced off in United’s 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa at Old Trafford last month after sustaining a calf injury.

The 28-year-old United skipper missed two matches as a result – against Villarreal and Everton – as he continues to recover from injury.

However, United were dealt a major blow after Raphael Varane picked up a groin injury in France’s 2-1 win over Spain in the Nations League final.

This week the Reds confirmed in a statement that the former Real Madrid defender would be sidelined for a few weeks.

Check out the SN predicted line-up vs Leicester City here.

That means Solskjaer is more than likely going to pick Eric Bailly and Victor Lindelof in the heart of defence on Saturday.

On top of that, Jones could be called upon to feature alongside one of those defenders against Leicester at the King Power.

The club revealed the following in an article on Harry Maguire’s fitness, as per ManUtd.com: “Phil Jones and Marcus Rashford have both been training with the first team over the international break following their long-term injuries and the duo could feature against Leicester in our 15:00 BST kick-off at the King Power Stadium on Saturday.”

Jones has been out for a long time with injuries and it’s good to see him back in contention to play football again. His last appearance came in United’s 6-0 win over Tranmere Rovers I the FA Cup in January 2020.

He played 90 minutes against Arsenal and Brighton youths last month.