David Silva will not be taking on his old Manchester rivals this week (Picture: Getty Images)
Real Sociedad will be missing a number of first team players when they welcome Manchester United to the Reale Arena on Thursday.
Top spot in Europa League Group E is on the line when the sides meet in San Sebastian, with United needing to win by two goals or more to finish top of the group.
The Spanish side picked up an impressive 1-0 win at Old Trafford in the reverse fixture, but their hopes of getting another victory have been hit by a string of injuries.
Seven players are expected to miss out due to fitness problems, with former Manchester City favourite David Silva one of those to be suffering with injury.
Takefusa Kubo, Ander Barrenetxea, Momo Cho, Aihen Munoz, Mikel Oyarzabal and Umar Sadiq are all also expected to miss the game with the Red Devils.
Real Sociedad have lost their last two La Liga games, but remain fifth in their domestic league after a solid start to the season overall.
Manchester United’s injury problems appear to be easing, with Harry Maguire returning to the starting XI at the weekend and Donny van de Beek back on the bench.
Anthony Martial has been back in training and could be involved in Spain, while Aaron Wan-Bissaka is also close to a return.
Antony missed the win over West Ham on Sunday, but Erik ten Hag has not ruled him out of being involved in northern Spain, as could Victor Lindelof, who has been ill.
‘I think they will recover but I can’t tell you any more,’ said Ten Hag on Sunday. ‘We have to see what develops in the coming days and how they progress but I hope, when we go to Spain, everyone is on board.
‘We need them all. There are still four games to go in a short period. You see it’s tough for all teams, but also for us, we need 11 players and we need the squad to cover everything.’
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The battle for the top of the group comes down to the last game.
