Manchester: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has confirmed that David de Gea will play against Huddersfield Town on Sunday after an injury to Sergio Romero removed the threat of Manchester United’s first-choice goalkeeper being dropped.
De Gea’s error in the 1-1 draw with Chelsea last weekend has left United’s top-four hopes hanging by a thread and the club will be consigned to the Europa League next season if they lose to relegated Huddersfield and Chelsea secure a point at home to Watford.
The Spaniard’s loss of form has contributed to United’s slump over the past two months, during which they have lost seven of 10 games.
But the possibility of Solskjaer omitting De Gea against Huddersfield has been averted after Romero suffered a knee problem in training.
“He will play,” Solskjaer said of De Gea. “Sergio was injured yesterday so he didn’t train, and David’s been training well this week.” Asked if he would have dropped De Gea had Romero been fit, the United manager said: “Ifs and buts and hypothetical questions. Sergio knows how highly I rate him.”
Solskjaer held talks this week with De Gea in the wake of his Chelsea mistake, when he spilt a 30-yard shot from Antonio Rudiger that Marcos Alonso converted on the rebound, the blunder following other high-profile incidents against Barcelona, Manchester City and Arsenal.
“What we discuss we don’t need to tell everyone if it’s positive or negative,” Solskjaer said. “David’s confident and wants to prove how good a goalkeeper he is. Of course we do [trust him], he’s been fantastic this season. He’s been in the headlines maybe for the wrong reasons, but he has to deal with that.”
- The Telegraph Group Limited, London 2019
