LAST UPDATE | 2 Jun 2023
MANCHESTER UNITED HAVE been hit by a setback for Antony ahead of the FA Cup final, with Erik ten Hag saying it is “unlikely” the winger will be fit to face Manchester City.
The 23-year-old winger went down in agony last Thursday during the first half of the penultimate Premier League game of the season against Chelsea.
Antony left on a stretcher and Ten Hag feared a “serious” injury, only to allay concerns three days later by saying the “first assessment is not too bad” and that he had a “good opportunity” to face City.
But this week has not gone as well as expected and the Brazil international now looks set to miss the first ever all-Manchester FA Cup final.
“Unlikely (he will be fit),” he said. “Dos Santos (Antony) still has a chance but it’s a really small chance.
“He didn’t make the progress, so he still has a chance but unlikely he is available.”
Lisandro Martinez, Marcel Sabitzer and Donny van de Beek have long since been ruled out of the final, while Anthony Martial’s injury-hit season will end on the sidelines.
The 27-year-old strained a hamstring towards the end of Sunday’s win against Fulham and will miss the Wembley showdown after scans showed a muscle tear.
“These questions so many times about the absence of players in the last couple of months,” Ten Hag said.
“Every time I say the same answer: it’s about the players who are available and many times we were successful.
“We have a good squad and from that good squad we make a good team.”
Absentee-hit United wrapped up third spot last weekend and are looking to complete the domestic cup double for the first time, having lifted the Carabao Cup in February.
Ten Hag says Saturday will be a “good test” against Premier League champions City, who are looking to take another step towards the treble by winning at Wembley.
United fans are desperate for their side to extinguish those dreams as Pep Guardiola’s men look to replicate Sir Alex Ferguson’s 1999 treble heroes.
“We want to win, we want to win a cup,” Ten Hag said. “It’s not about stopping them. It is about that we win, that we win the cup. We have a great opportunity.
“That’s great that we deserved that opportunity to be in the cup final and then meet Man City. That’s a great opportunity.”
Pep Guardiola, meanwhile, has eased concerns over the fitness of a number of key Manchester City players ahead of the final.
Jack Grealish, Kevin De Bruyne, Ruben Dias and Manuel Akanji all missed the champions’ final Premier League game of the season at Brentford last week.
Those players have all since returned to training and are expected to come back into contention for both the Wembley showpiece and next weekend’s Champions League final in Istanbul.
City manager Guardiola said: “They’ve trained well in the last two training sessions. They are all of them, more or less, fine.”
Guardiola has also confirmed second-choice goalkeeper Stefan Ortega will start at Wembley, in keeping with his usual policy for domestic cup fixtures.
The German, who started two of the last three Premier League games, has not yet conceded in the FA Cup this season.
Guardiola said: “Stefan is going to play. I have always been like that in the FA Cup. The keeper who has played in the FA Cup is going to play in the FA Cup (final).”
