Manchester United will be without England midfielder Michael Carrick for Wednesday's Champions League Group B game at home to Germany's VfL Wolfsburg, manager Louis van Gaal told a pre-match news conference.
Manchester United will be without England midfielder Michael Carrick for Wednesday's Champions League Group B game at home to Germany's VfL Wolfsburg, manager Louis van Gaal told a pre-match news conference.
Like Ander Herrera and Antonio Valencia, Carrick did not train on Tuesday ahead of a match in which United cannot afford another slip, having lost their opening group game 2-1 away to PSV Eindhoven. The Germans are also three points ahead of them after beating CSKA Moscow 1-0 in their first match.
"I think Michael Carrick shall not play," Van Gaal said. He added that Herrera and Valencia had minor injuries and would probably not be risked.
Carrick and Valencia both started Saturday's 3-0 win over Sunderland, which took United to the top of the Premier League. Three successive wins in the league have given them new confidence, which prompted Van Gaal to suggest they were capable of becoming European champions for the first time since 2008.
"I think we can, because I've done it," said the experienced Dutchman, who won the competition with Ajax in 1995. "It's not (just) quality but it's also luck. For me as a manager when you reach the final you have done fantastic. I think in the Champions League you need to win all your home matches otherwise it will be very difficult."
Whether or not he were to win it again, Van Gaal does not envisage staying on once his contract expires in 2017. "Normally I leave after next year, but nothing in football is normal," he said. "But I promised my wife to go to our (Portuguese) paradise and it would be hard to break that promise. If I stay a year longer it will be very hard for my wife."
Midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger, a former Champions League winner with Bayern Munich, agreed that United have the potential to emulate his former club.
"This squad has that strength," he said. "The whole club are very friendly and my team mates made it easy. Of course no-one speaks German but that was no problem for me and I feel very comfortable here especially when you have matches here at Old Trafford. It is a big honour for me to play here, especially in the Champions League. He is already accepted as a leading player," Van Gaal said of the German World Cup winner. That is why we bought him from Bayern Munich. He is an example for the young players and I'm very happy with him."
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