Ruud van Nistelrooy will be without nine Man United players for Leicester City Carabao Cup tie

Manchester United supporters will be desperate for interim manager Ruud van Nistelrooy will be able to get a tune out of his inherited squad against Leicester City.

He may not be in line for the Man United role on a permanent basis - that falling instead to Sporting CP's Ruben Amorim - but a reaction following Erik ten Hag's sacking is the bare minimum required. This is the true task entrusted to Van Nistelrooy.

The club's former striker has at least some pressure lifted in that his opportunity will come in the Carabao Cup, as opposed to the Premier League. But given the start to the season in all competitions, no matches can be taken for granted.

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Unfortunately for him, Van Nistelrooy will face the same adversity Ten Hag did. This is because no injured stars are expected to return to the pool of players that were available for Sunday's 2-1 defeat to West Ham United at the London Stadium.

In fact, he may be without one less player as Noussair Mazraoui was forced off in the closing stages three days ago. No hints were able to be given about the severity of the problem, so it remains to be seen whether he makes tonight's squad or not.

Trio Kobbie Mainoo (muscle), Harry Maguire (foot) and Leny Yoro (metatarsal) are pushing closer to making their returns but are not expected to be up for selection until November. The former duo have been absent since the Aston Villa clash earlier this month, while summer signing Yoro is yet to make his competitive debut yet owing to his unfortunate setback.

And following on from that quarter, the remainder of Manchester United's injured list are all facing uncertainty surrounding their respective returns to action.

Luke Shaw (calf) has been expected to return after the September and October international breaks, only to suffer continual setbacks. Talking about his latest on Sunday, Ten Hag had said: "The process is not going as we expected, that's the truth.

"The setback, if you want to call it like this, we want also to do it very careful. When he is now dropping again, we want to be very careful.

"We know his past, we have to do this right, because we want him to be available, because he will have a big impact on our performances and also on our levels. We can't have him playing for some games and then drop out again. So, we will do it very carefully."

Following on, Antony (ankle) was forced off with the aid of a stretcher after playing 16 minutes as a substitute against Fenerbahce last week. He was then seen leaving the stadium with a protective boot and crutches, but a timescale is yet to be provided.

Both Mason Mount (knock) and Tom Collyer (unknown) are being eased back gradually, further straining Van Nistelrooy's midfield options, and lastly, Tyrell Malacia (knee) is not going to be available.

"He is not that far [off], but he is now in a progress situation. At a relatively short notice, he can again return into team training and then into team performance in games," Ten Hag had said recently, hopeful his full-back could play his first match since the end of the 2022/23 season this month.

However, as tonight's meeting marks the final fixture of October, this will not become a reality.