Six Manchester United players in line for returns against Tottenham Hotspur

Manchester United head coach Erik ten Hag has said that Lisandro Martinez, Casemiro, Luke Shaw, Antony, Christian Eriksen and Amad Diallo are all in contention to face Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

Martinez has been absent for almost four months after needing to undergo a second operation on the fractured metatarsal that he suffered towards the end of the 2022-23 campaign.

Casemiro, meanwhile, has been on the sidelines since November 1 due to a hamstring issue, and the Brazil captain has not featured in the Premier League since the start of October.

Both players have recently been back in training, though, and Ten Hag has said that the pair are pushing to be involved against Spurs alongside Shaw, Antony, Eriksen and Amad, with the quartet recently unavailable for selection due to a mixture of injury and illness.

"We have had a lot of injuries, so this week in training, the last couple of days, Licha Martinez training, Casemiro training, Luke Shaw training, so there are players returning, they are coming in for selection for Sunday," Ten Hag told reporters during his press conference on Friday afternoon.

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"Antony, yeah. Eriksen was ill in the week, he will return. Antony will return. Amad will return. We have more choice in this moment in the squad to put out a starting XI and create a bench that is stronger."

However, the likes of Mason Mount, Tyrell Malacia and Victor Lindelof are not yet ready to return to action.

"They are returning, a step ahead, when I talk about Licha Martinez returning, Casemiro returning, for instance, but they were a long time away, Mason Mount will return but take a little longer," Ten Hag added.

"Tyrell Malacia will return as well, Victor Lindelof is also on his way back but it will take some weeks and takes time to get back into match fitness. When we have the news we will tell you.

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"I'm not sure the word relief, first it has to happen they are back but it is positive they are back on the training ground and that they go back to the team and then to 100% match fitness."

Harry Maguire has also been out with a groin problem for the last month, while Anthony Martial, who continues to be linked with a move away from Old Trafford, has been missing since December 9 through illness.

"Sunday's most important and I don't look further than that, in the background I organise, prepare for the second half of the season and make the best programme for all the players," the Man United boss added when questioned on the team's upcoming run of fixtures.

"We have a group of players who make the last step into match fitness, if they need a different programme to the players with a tough programme in 2023, it will be a different approach in the coming weeks going up to the next FA Cup round."

Man United suffered a 2-1 loss to Nottingham Forest in their last Premier League match, but they will enter this game off the back of a 2-0 success over Wigan Athletic in the third round of the FA Cup.