Jose Mourinho says he will take Manchester United kids to the Palace

Manchester: Manchester United will field a weakened team for their last Premier League game of the season against Crystal Palace if they qualify for the Europa League final, manager Jose Mourinho has said.

Fifth-placed United are a point and a place behind Manchester City and their qualification for next season’s Champions League through a top-four finish depends on either City or third-placed Liverpool slipping up in their remaining games.

With four league matches left, United are yet to play second-placed Tottenham Hotspur and sixth-placed Arsenal but can also book a Champions League spot by winning the Europa League.

They face Spanish side Celta Vigo away in the semi-final first leg on Thursday.

“If we beat Celta, we have the final (on May 24) and, in this moment, it is obviously hypothetical,” Mourinho told the club’s website. (www.manutd.com) “The Europa League final is on the Wednesday and we play against Crystal Palace on the Sunday ... so we would be playing the final with disastrous consequences,” the Portuguese added.

“Maybe I can bring (youth team coach) Nicky Butt and his team to play against Crystal Palace and hopefully they (Palace) don’t need the game to stay in the division because it would be very, very bad if they needed the points and we played with the Under-23s.” Midfielders Paul Pogba and Marouane Fellaini will return to action against Celta.

“Fellaini and Pogba will be back for that game so there are a little bit more in terms of options so we will give everything we have,” Mourinho said. United then travel to Arsenal in the Premier League on Sunday but will be without Luke Shaw who is expected to miss the rest of Manchester United’s season and England’s World Cup qualifier against Scotland next month after suffering another injury setback.

The left-back was taken off after just eight minutes of United’s 1-1 draw with Swansea City on Sunday, with Mourinho claiming the problem “must be a big injury” in a swipe that appeared to again question his commitment.

Ibra recovery:

Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s knee operation, however, has been a success and he will make a full recovery, according to his agent Mino Raiola.

The 35 year-old has gone under the knife in America to repair ligament damage suffered in United’s Europa League win over Anderlecht last month and Raiola has confirmed that the injury has not ended the striker’s career.

“Zlatan Ibrahimovic has undergone successful knee surgery. He will make a full recovery AND HAS NOT SUFFERED A CAREER-ENDING INJURY,” Raiola said in a statement.

“The procedure was performed by Freddie Fu, M.D., and Volker Musahl, M.D., of the UPMC Sports Medicine program in Pittsburgh.=

“Zlatan has started rehabilitation at UPMC and will remain under the care of Dr. Fu and Dr. Musahl throughout his recovery.

“Zlatan and the medical team are not available for interviews at this time. Additional updates will follow at a later date.”

Ibrahimovic is expected to be out for the rest of the year and his future at Old Trafford hangs in the balance, with his contract expiring in the summer.

The veteran has been a success in his first taste of English football, scoring 28 goals in 46 appearances before injury struck.

— Agencies