Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho expects injured trio to return for Sevilla clash

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho says he expects Marcus Rashford, Ander Herrera and Antonio Valencia to return from injury for the midweek trip to Sevilla.

United travel to the south of Spain for the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 on 21 February, with Mourinho saying he hoped to have back some of the players that missed the club's FA Cup win over Huddersfield through injury.

Phil Jones, Marcos Rojo, Marouane Fellaini and Zlatan Ibrahimovic all sat out the win over the Terriers, while Paul Pogba pulled out of the match due to illness.

Mourinho said he did not know if Pogba will be able to play against Sevilla, while Jones, Rojo and Fellaini are all expected to miss out.

"I didn't rest one single player [against Huddersfield], so we had every player available here," the Portuguese coach was quoted as saying by Sky Sports after the win over Huddersfield.

"I brought two kids (Ethan Hamilton and Angel Gomes) that played 90 minutes yesterday [for the U23s] because I don't have another player.

"Can we recover some of them for Wednesday? I believe so. Rashford, Herrera, Valencia, I think they have a chance. Paul [Pogba], I don't know.

"Marcos Rojo, Phil Jones, Marouane, Zlatan, I don't think they have any chance, so we arrive at this crucial moment with some problems."

The uncertainty surrounding Pogba's fitness comes after Mourinho was forced to deny that his relationship with the Frenchman had broken down over his unhappiness at the position he is being asked to play.

The 24-year-old has failed to complete the full 90 minutes in his last three appearances for United amid a poor run of form and was substituted midway through the second half in the 1-0 defeat against Newcastle.

Mourinho said he expected a tough match against Sevilla, who are in fifth place in La Liga.

"I think mentality is very important. And we have a strong team, strong bonding, strong team mentality," he stated.

"We know it is a very difficult match – but we go for it."