Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has admitted that Antony is "unlikely" to recover in time for Saturday's FA Cup final against rivals Manchester City at Wembley Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The Brazilian attacker was stretchered off in tears after sustaining an ankle injury in the 4-1 Premier League win over Chelsea a week last Thursday, before missing the 2-1 victory against Fulham last Sunday, and Ten Hag has since revealed that the 23-year-old has failed to make progress in his recovery this week.
The Red Devils will definitely have to cope without forward Anthony Martial who picked up a hamstring injury late on in the win over Fulham, and the Frenchman joins Lisandro Martinez (foot), Marcel Sabitzer, Donny van de Beek (both knee) and Tom Heaton (ankle) in the treatment room.
Luke Shaw watched on as an unused substitute against the Cottagers after coming off at half time in the win over Chelsea with a back issue, but the left-back should be fit to return to the starting lineup against Man City.
A centre-back pairing of Raphael Varane and Victor Lindelof is set to provide protection for goalkeeper David de Gea, with the former expected to return at the expense of captain Harry Maguire, while Diogo Dalot – who signed a new long-term contract at Old Trafford on Wednesday – may be replaced at right-back by Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
Christian Eriksen could replace Fred in centre-midfield and start alongside lynchpin Casemiro, who scored in his last visit to Wembley in the EFL Cup final in February, while Bruno Fernandes is poised to continue in the number 10 role.
In the absence of Martial, top scorer Marcus Rashford, who also found the net in his last outing at Wembley, is expected to lead the line ahead of Wout Weghorst, with Jadon Sancho and Alejandro Garnacho the most likely candidates to operate on the flanks.
Manchester United possible starting lineup: De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Varane, Lindelof, Shaw; Casemiro, Eriksen; Sancho, Fernandes, Garnacho; Rashford
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