Erik ten Hag confirms Harry Maguire injury status for Liverpool trip

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has confirmed that Harry Maguire will not be available to face bitter rivals Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday.

Maguire pulled up late during United's midweek to defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League - one that condemned the Red Devils to the bottom of Group A and confirmed their exit from European competition.

The pressure is building on Ten Hag as that loss was United's 12th reverse of the season, but the Dutchman will have to try and engineer a positive result away at Liverpool without Maguire in central defence.

"Harry is not available for the coming games, but we don't think his injury will be long term," Ten Hag told his pre-match press conference, suggesting Maguire may also be missing for the upcoming games with West Ham United and Aston Villa.

Maguire has played the full 90 minutes in United's last nine Premier League games having forced his way back into Ten Hag's plans. Stripped of the club captaincy last season in favour of Bruno Fernandes, the 30-year-old had a watching brief for the second half of the 2022/23 campaign, but he is once again ahead of Raphael Varane and Victor Lindelof in United's defensive pecking order.

Varane now looks like the most likely player to leave United, and not Maguire, after it was revealed that his contract at Old Trafford actually expires next June, and not in 2025 as was previously thought.

West Ham had been interested in signing Maguire during the summer transfer window, lodging a £30m bid for the 62-cap England international, but an inability to agree a pay-off with United saw him stay put.

Elsewhere, Ten Hag offered a more reassuring update for United supporters on Luke Shaw and Marcus Rashford, confirming both players are in contention to start at Anfield in a game United humiliatingly lost 7-0 last season.

READ THE LATEST MAN UTD NEWS, TRANSFER RUMOURS & GOSSIP