Manchester United have been given a timely injury boost as midfielder Marouane Fellaini has been declared fit ahead of the much awaited Manchester derby. The 28-year-old missed Belgium's loss to Spain last week though the midfielder joined with the Belgium squad before their game against Spain. He is expected to miss Belgium's World Cup qualifier against Cyprus tonight as Fellaini will get enough time to prepare for the derby.
Jose Mourinho earlier had praised Fellaini on his performance against Hull City where he revealed that the Belgian had suffered a back injury. Mourinho said, “I saw the way Fellaini and the two central defenders controlled everything long, high and short. But I can’t play Fellaini for some time. He has a muscle injury in his back. He will fly with Belgium but it is bad."
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Belgium's new manager Roberto Martinez was disappointed after his first game in charge ended in defeat for Belgium. He said, "I saw all the work I still have to do. We were up against a very talented side. But I'm very disappointed by the few chances we created. We weren't able to show what we're capable of, so I understand the fans' disappointment. We have a difficult game coming up in Cyprus on Tuesday. We need better balance, and a better approach to head in the right direction."
Also read: Why such an intense rivalry exists between Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola
Mourinho has lamented the timing of the Manchester derby as many players are yet to return from international duty. He was quoted saying, “We are going to lose the others and we don’t know the way they train, the way they recover, the life they are going to have with their national teams. Some are coming back on the Monday before the Manchester City match but some are coming back on Friday."
Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho are going to renew their rivalry once again in England after their battle in Spain. Round one went to Guardiola as he won five times against Mourinho with the Portuguese winning just two games between the two. The Manchester derby is the biggest match of the 2016-17 season until now as both the clubs are title contenders this campaign after spending more than £150 million each in the recently concluded transfer period.
