Romelu Lukaku and Marouane
Fellaini are fit to return for Manchester United's
FA Cup clash with Derby County while Michael
Carrick has returned to training, manager Jose
Mourinho has confirmed.
Lukaku missed the 2-0 over Everton on New
Year's Day after suffering a head injury while
Fellaini has missed the last 11 games with a knee
problem.
Both are set to feature against Derby at Old
Trafford in the FA Cup third round on Friday
night. Carrick is back in training after undergoing
a routine heart procedure and Antonio Valencia
should be fit to face Stoke City on Jan. 15 after
missing five games with a hamstring injury.
Sergio Romero is set to start in goal against
Derby in place of David De Gea.
Mourinho told a news conference on Thursday:
"Romelu is OK, Felliani is back, Carrick is back to
training with the team.
"Valencia will be back next week so not playing
[against Derby] but back next week. The situation
is improving for us."
After playing four games in 10 games over
Christmas and new year, United will get a nine-
day break after facing Derby.
And despite a packed schedule, Mourinho insists
he will pick a strong side against a team
currently sitting second in the Championship.
He added: "I always give a lot of respect to the
cups, of course the FA Cup is special in relation
to the League Cup, but even the League Cup I
was one of the first managers to go to the
League Cup to win it.
"The draw was not nice to us because we are
playing a Premier League team. You look at the
players they are not Championship players. I've
played the majority in the Premier League.
"I'll play with a good team, then the result is out
of you control.
"To go with a strong team with first team players,
I'm going to play it like a Premier League match.
"I'm going to play Romero because he's a top
keeper and he deserves to play. David deserves a
rest.
"Romero will be Argentina's World Cup keeper.
He plays but I'm going to play with a team that I
consider very strong."
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