Jose Mourinho confirms Luke Shaw and Henrikh Mkhitaryan fit for Liverpool trip

Manchester United have received a double fitness boost ahead of Monday night's (17 October) north-west derby clash against Liverpool, with Jose Mourinho confirming that both Luke Shaw and Henrikh Mkhitaryan will be available for the trip to Anfield.

Former long-term absentee Shaw has endured another difficult few weeks, having been somewhat harshly singled out for public criticism by his manager in the aftermath of a 3-1 defeat to Watford last month. It was subsequently revealed that the left-back was suffering from a slight groin tear and he later missed a Europa League win over Zorya Luhansk due to a fever that resulted in him being sent home from training.

Ex-Southampton starlet Shaw did not return in United's last outing before the international break – a 1-1 draw with Stoke City at Old Trafford – and was then left out of England's squad for a 2018 World Cup qualifying double-header against Malta and Slovenia after interim boss Gareth Southgate declared that the 21-year-old had not yet returned to full fitness.

Mkhitaryan, meanwhile, has yet to hit the ground running in English football since a summer switch from Borussia Dortmund. After initially making four appearances as a substitute, the pacy midfielder sustained a thigh strain while leading Armenia in a friendly against the Czech Republic and later aggravated the same problem during the season's first Manchester derby, where a poor first-half performance saw his first start for the club curtailed at the interval.

In addition to confirming those respective returns, Mourinho also revealed that none of United's sizable international contingent have reported back to first-team training at Carrington with any fresh fitness concerns. However, injury-plagued defender Phil Jones, who has not played a competitive fixture since January, remains sidelined with medial knee ligament damage sustained before last month's loss to Feyenoord in Rotterdam. He was initially expected to be out for approximately one month, although there was no update on his recovery during Friday's prematch press conference.