Man Utd sweating over fresh centre-back injury ahead of crucial Europa League game | OneFootball

Ruben Amorim stressed that he will name a "competitive" Manchester United team against Real Sociedad in the Europa League, but admitted there is uncertainty over Harry Maguire's fitness.

United were already missing eight players as a result of various injuries before the weekend, with Amorim only naming seven substitutes against Fulham, two of which were academy goalkeepers.

Maguire is seemingly the latest casualty after being replaced on Sunday. The former captain completed 90 minutes of the FA Cup fifth round tie but was unable to carry on into extra-time, replaced by teenager Ayden Heaven, making his United debut.

There was no indication on the severity immediately after the final whistle at Old Trafford, with Maguire to be assessed and monitored by medical staff.

"I have to see how is Harry Maguire," Amorim told reporters. "We will see. It's a tough moment in that aspect [with injuries], but we have to move on. It will be a competitive team on Thursday."

Harry Maguire is a new concern for Man Utd / DARREN STAPLES/GettyImages

If Maguire is unavailable to face Real Sociedad in San Sebastian, United could be down to the bare bones of the squad from a defensive perspective.

Lisandro Martinez and Jonny Evans are already ruled out, with Luke Shaw, a capable left-sided centre-back in such a system, also still unavailable. Matthijs de Ligt, Victor Lindelof and Leny Yoro would be the likely starters, with the raw Heaven next in line to play.

With a route into next season's Europa League via the FA Cup, which is how the club secured European football for this campaign, now off the table following elimination, United's only realistic chance of continental football in 2025/26 is to win the Europa League.

The prize for that is Champions League qualification, which United previously secured under Jose Mourinho's guidance in 2017 after finishing sixth in the Premier League. As many as 11 points off the top six and form the way it has been, qualifying for Europe via a league finish seems implausible.