Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim says his side could “struggle” without Amad and Bryan Mbeumo if they go to the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in December.
AFCON takes place from December 21 to January 18, spanning United’s Premier League fixtures against Aston Villa, Newcastle United, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Leeds United and Burnley and Manchester City, as well as an FA Cup third-round tie.
Amad and Mbeumo are likely to be called up to play at the tournament for Ivory Coast and Cameroon respectively, having been involved for their countries in the two international breaks this season.
Noussair Mazraoui may also miss games in that period, as he represents AFCON hosts Morocco.
“We have time to suffer with that,” Amorim said when asked about the prospect of losing Amad and Mbeumo ahead of Saturday’s game against Nottingham Forest. “We are going to struggle a little bit.
“But we already knew (that). It is going to be an opportunity because when I watch the training, there are players that should be playing, but it is hard with one game to take some players from the team because they are going well also, during training and the games.
“Other players are going to have the opportunity to help us, they are understanding the way we want to play. The change of characteristics are not going to change the idea or the momentum of the team, but let’s use Amad and Bryan in these games and then we will see in January.”
Aside from the Brentford game, which Amad was excused for due to a family bereavement, the pair have featured in every game so far this term, with the Ivory Coast international scoring once and Mbeumo registering five goals and an assist.
Ahead of their absence, United have welcomed Lisandro Martinez back to the squad after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in February, but he will not play on the weekend.
“He wants to go to this one, he’s not going to this one,” Amorim added. “He’s really good and he gives us that edge in every training session, that is also really good for us.”
For the other absences, including Harry Maguire and Mason Mount, who picked up knocks before the Brighton game last weekend, Amorim said “we have one more day” to decide whether they will play.
Manchester United travel to Nottingham Forest on Saturday after winning three games in a row for the first time in Amorim’s tenure, which is closing in on a year.
