Manuel Ugarte is likely to make his Manchester United debut this weekend (Picture: Getty Images)
New signing Manuel Ugarte is available to make his Manchester United debut on Saturday against Southampton, but Rasmus Hojlund and Luke Shaw will not be involved.
After a lengthy chase over the summer, the Red Devils finally landed Ugarte on 30 August, signing the Uruguay international from Paris Saint-Germain for an initial £42m.
The 23-year-old may not have played a club game since May, but has been busy with his national team and started two World Cup qualifiers for Uruguay over the last week.
The midfielder only returned to Manchester on Thursday but Ten Hag is happy with his condition and says he will be available for the 12.30pm kick-off on Saturday.
‘Manuel Ugarte, you will have seen he played for Uruguay, he returned this afternoon [Thursday], he was the only player who returned today, the rest yesterday, so he is available for this game,’ the Manchester United manager told a press conference.
However, it is not such good news for injured pair Hojlund and Shaw, with neither making it back to fitness in time for the weekend.
Rasmus Hojlund will have to wait for his return from injury (Picture: Getty Images)
Neither the Danish forward nor the English left-back has appeared yet this season, with Hojlund suffering with a hamstring problem and Shaw out with a calf injury.
Both are expected to be back by the end of the month, but will not feature at St Mary’s this weekend.
‘Rasmus Hojlund and Luke Shaw are progressing very well but not ready,’ said Ten Hag.
Manchester United were beset by injury problems last season and continue to struggle to keep players fit this campaign.
Also sidelined are Leny Yoro, Tyrell Malacia, Mason Mount and Victor Lindelof.
Bruno Fernandes was briefly a concern over the international break as he limped off at the end of Portugal’s win over Scotland, but he confirmed: ‘It’s okay. It’s just a little bump.’
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