As well as De Ligt & Maguire: Ruben Amorim confirms ‘really important’ player is ‘out’ of Aston Villa clash

Ruben Amorim says the absence of Manchester United’s African Cup of Nations representatives will pave the way for fringe players to get a chance.The head coach has spent the week preparing for tomorrow’s fixture at Villa Park without Amad Diallo, Bryan Mbeumo and Noussair Mazraoui at his disposal, the latter of which was pulled out of United’s clash with Bournemouth late on.Amorim deciding on squad reshuffle(Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)Mazraoui was made to depart Carrington pretty much the day of Bournemouth’s visit to Old Trafford, as the Moroccan Federation blocked him from playing in the match and requested that he report from international duty.Amad and Mbeumo, on the other hand, were cleared to feature, and both, particularly the Ivorian, played influential roles in attack for Amorim.While the Portuguese is undoubtedly sweating over how he will navigate the unavailability of such an integral trio, he’s affirmed that plans are firmly in place to handle the situation accordingly.“Yes [we have lost Amad and Mbeumo] and also Nous… So Nous is also really important for us, but when one player is out, we have opportunities for other players,” Amorim told MUTV.“Last year, in some games, we managed to win, especially in Europe, without Amad. Bryan was not here, so we already have those moments of difficulty. So we are ready, more than ready, to cope with that.”Who else is missing vs Aston Villa?(Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)As well as the AFCON stars, Amorim will also be without Matthijs de Ligt and Harry Maguire, both of whom are injured and have been ruled out of the trip to Villa Park.Aston Villa boast a remarkable nine-game unbeaten streak in all competitions, meaning United face a mammoth task when they take to the West Midlands to close out the weekend.