Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has confirmed that defenders Phil Jones and Eric Bailly remain out for Saturday's match against Brighton & Hove Albion, but Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic will both feature as they continue their returns from injury.
Jones picked up an injury while on international duty with England earlier this month, while Bailly has not played since before the international break.
"They are out," Mourinho said to MUTV about the two defenders. "But we are OK because we have [Chris] Smalling, [Marcos] Rojo and [Victor] Lindelof."
Pogba and Ibrahimovic both returned to the fold in last Saturday's win over Newcastle United. Pogba started that game and the midweek match at Basel having been out since mid-September, while Ibrahimovic made his first two appearances of the season from the bench in those matches.
"Paul is still on this process where he cannot reach the fatigue limit," Mourinho said. "He cannot go more than 65 to 70 minutes because that's when fatigue normally arrives and, with so many matches consecutively, we need to protect such an important player for us.
"I prefer [Ibrahimovic] on the pitch than off the pitch. On the pitch, he's another option for us and he's an option of quality. His physicality and his intelligence, the way he moves, the way he plays.
"But he needs time. We managed to give him 15-20 minutes in both matches, he needs more of that, so hopefully, tomorrow, we play him again."
Mourinho added in his prematch news conference: "Step by step, minute after minute, match after match. It is easy to play him if the team is losing for the last 15 or 20 minutes. If the team is winning his qualities are adapted, you don't play him only if the team is losing.
"Normally he is going to have this period of 15, 20 minutes and one day he will feel he is physically ready. He's one more option for us and it is impossible for [Romelu] Lukaku to play every match, every minute like he's doing and he is another option."
The boss has been speaking to #MUTV with a team news update featuring Zlatan, Pogba, Bailly and Jones: https://t.co/BIuQc7jAAI pic.twitter.com/XHu9Y649cl
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) November 24, 2017
Rojo returned from a seven month lay-off to make his comeback against Basel on Wednesday and Mourinho said the Argentina international will have to be assessed before throwing him back in at Old Trafford on Saturday.
"He was training with the team longer than Paul and Zlatan," he said. "But in a period when we had every central defender ready to play so we protected him. We gave him a better condition and, when we put him in the Champions League match, he was really ready.
"So 90 minutes, no problem, no reaction from the knee, confidence in his game, a good, solid performance. It's very good to have him back."
ESPN FC's Manchester United correspondent Rob Dawson contributed to this report