Altay Bayindir has been ruled out of Manchester United’s FA Cup fourth round clash against Leicester in the latest injury blow to hit Ruben Amorim’s squad.
Bayindir was the star of United’s third round win over Premier League title challengers Arsenal. He made a string of saves before denying both Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz in the penalty shootout.
He also recently kept a clean sheat in the win over FCSB that ensured United qualified for the last 16 of the Europa League. But Amorim has now confirmed that the Turkish star is the latest to be consigned to the treatment room.
And it means he will miss out on the chance to face the Foxes, alongside fellow keeper Tom Heaton. It likely means that first choice Andre Onana will not be rested and will line up between the sticks.
Amorim told MUTV: “Altay, I think, he has a problem. So he is not available for the game. Tom is also not for this game but he can play the other ones [in the future]. So the rest are ready. The important thing is we are ready to face the game.”
With Bayindir and Heaton ruled out, Elyh Harrison, Hubert Graczyk and Dermot Mee will be pushing for inclusion in the squad. Highly-regarded Harrison, who recently returned from a successful loan spell at Chester, was on the bench for the Premier League defeat to Crystal Palace.
Elsewhere, Lisandro Martinez will also be missing after he suffered an ACL injury against Palace. And Luke Shaw has suffered yet another setback, with the Englishman set for weeks on the sidelines.
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“Licha is a difficult situation,” Amorim added. “We don’t know the extent of the injury but it’s an injury that is going to take time. Luke, just a little bit, one small issue in a different area from the last injury, so we’ll try to be careful with Luke.
“It’s hard. It’s hard to give you a time, because he has a small issue different from the injury. Then he has to stop. Then we have to return a little bit to work the fitness, to be aware of the last injury.
“So it’s a complicated moment to try to tell you a timeline. I don’t want any pressure on the medical department, or on Luke. We just need the players fit to help the team.”
Along with that quartet, Jonny Evans is also set to miss out, having won the FA Cup with Leicester back in 2021. Mason Mount, who was at Chelsea when they lost to the Foxes in that final, is also still recovering from injury.
Amorim’s squad otherwise appears to have a clean bill of health as they look to beat struggling Leicester. But the Red Devils have also endured a wretched run, winning just five of their 12 games.
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