LONDON, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- Manchester United coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is trying to keep positive despite an injury crisis which could leave him without 10 players for Wednesday night's visit to play Crystal Palace.
Sunday's game at home to Liverpool saw Manchester United lose Ander Herrera, Jesse Lingard and Juan Mata to injuries before half time, while Marcos Rashford ended the match with an ankle problem.
Those four can be added to other absentees, Nemanja Matic, Anthony Martial, Phil Jones, Matteo Darmian and Antonio Valencia, while teenager Mason Greenwood is also unavailable for a game United need to win in order to return to the top-four in the Premier League.
Solskjaer said the absences would give out of favour forwards, Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez to stake their claims for a regular starting place.
"It is a chance for them to play to their potential; reputation is one thing, but their potential is high. The two of them are good mates, they link up well together, so this might be a chance for them to find some form and give us a selection headache for when everyone is fit again," said the United coach.
However, Solskjaer wasn't optimistic any of his injured players would recover for Wednesday.
"We've not had a session yet, so I don't think there are a lot of positives ... Rashford we're still waiting to see how his ankle is responding to the treatment, but muscle injuries are too early to think about," he commented.
The good news for Solskjaer is that he will at least be able to put out a solid defense.
"Luckily at centre-back, there are quite a few fit ones, Victor (Lindelof), Chris (Smalling) and Eric (Bailly), the three of them are ready," he said.
The coach said Martial might be ready for the weekend, but after seeing Lingard rush back at the weekend only to suffer a relapse, he said he would not take any risks with the French striker.
"In hindsight, you could maybe say Jesse was eager, but he had ticked all the boxes in training, done the recovery work and rehab. Maybe it was a couple of days too early but then again it was Liverpool and he was desperate to be a part of it," he admitted.