Mkhitaryan to miss cup final but Rooney to return for Man Utd

Michael Graham

Henrikh Mkhitaryan will miss Manchester United’s EFL Cup final against Southampton with injury, but Wayne Rooney is ready to return.

Mkhitaryan limped out of United’s Europa League tie against St Etienne this week, and boss Jose Mourinho has confirmed that Sunday’s clash at Wembley will be too early for him to feature.

There was better news on the Michael Carrick front, though, who will be able to play despite also picking up an injury.

“Michael is available,” Mourinho told reporters. “He was clever, he had the experience and left the pitch in right moment.

“So Michael is available. Mkhitaryan is out. [Phil] Jones, let’s see and decide tomorrow.”

Mourinho also confirmed that Wayne Rooney, who didn’t travel to France with the squad in midweek, will also be in his 18-man squad for the final.

“He’s fine, he’s training with the team,” he said.

“He was not selected for Saint-Etienne because he was not ready to play but he was ready to have one more important training session and no doubts, he is involved in the game.”