Anderlecht vs Manchester United: Lukasz Teodorczyk should be fit for Europa League clash
Prolific Polish forward sustained a shoulder injury during Sunday's goalless draw with Gent.
Anderlecht are hopeful that key striker Lukasz Teodorczyk will be available for the upcoming clash against Manchester United.
The Poland international suffered a shoulder injury during a Belgian First Division A championship play-off meeting with Gent over the weekend and had emerged as a potential doubt for Thursday night's (13 April) Europa League quarter-final first-leg tie at Constant Vanden Stock Stadium.
In an update released via their official website, Anderlecht confirmed that Teodorczyk, who was replaced after 72 minutes by Isaac Thelin, did indeed hurt his shoulder in that goalless draw.
However, subsequent medical examinations have revealed the issue is not too serious and the player will undergo a specific treatment over the coming days that should ensure he is able to line up against Jose Mourinho's competition favourites in Brussels.
Former Polonia Warsaw and Lech Poznan forward Teodorczyk joined the 33-time Belgian champions on a season-long loan from Ukrainian outfit Dynamo Kiev in August 2016 and quickly became one of Rene Weiler's most influential performers.
The 25-year-old has scored 28 goals in 43 appearances across all competitions so far this term and last month Anderlecht activated their clause to sign him on a permanent deal for a fee of around £4m ($4.9m). It has since been reported that the Purple and Whites could be tempted to quickly cash in on that excellent form this summer amid rumoured interest from the likes of Liverpool and West Ham United.
Having scored twice during a 6-0 qualifying rout of Slavia Prague and netted a further five goals as Anderlecht finished as runners-up to Saint-Etienne in Europa League Group C, Teodorczyk featured as a substitute in only one of the club's last-32 meetings with Zenit Saint Petersburg. He later started both legs of the subsequent tie against APOEL.
United's full team news for that trip to Belgium will not become fully clear until the announcement of their travelling squad, although Mourinho has already confirmed that the injured quintet of Chris Smalling, Phil Jones, Ashley Young, Juan Mata and Wayne Rooney will all remained sidelined. David De Gea's hip problem is largely irrelevant due to the manager's preference for fielding deputy Sergio Romero in Europe's secondary club competition, while Antonio Valencia could return after missing Premier League games against Everton and Sunderland.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic will lead the line as usual after scoring and playing 90 minutes in back-to-back outings following a three-match domestic suspension.
"The guy is showing no problems," Mourinho remarked. "He only stopped when he was suspended. He's looking very fit."
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