Solskjaer makes bizarre Ander Herrera injury claim, sets points targets and speaks out on recent form: Press Conference

Manchester United take on West Ham United on Saturday and will be hoping to bounce back from Wednesday night’s Champions League quarter-final defeat to Barcelona. The victory against Hammers on Saturday would see them leapfrog Arsenal into the fifth spot in the Premier League table. Luke Shaw and Ashley Young set to miss the game due to suspension, while Ander Herrera is recovering from a tight problem. Solskjaer, however, suggested the 29-year-old’s current injury could be related to the ongoing issue of his unresolved future. “Maybe the future might have been worrying him and that’s part of the reason he’s injured,” said Solskjaer. “Who knows? He doesn’t know, but hopefully, he can be available for Chelsea or Manchester City, but I’m not sure. He got another muscle injury.” “He’s been working really hard to get fit from his injury he sustained against Liverpool, then he came back and got a different one here in training. He’s been putting a lot of work in and that’s come at a time when there are contract talks, but that’s ongoing, I can’t really comment too much on how far they are down the line. “You have to ask him. I don’t know how they’ve been the last few talks, but we’ve let him focus on his fitness as well. He loves to play and he’s not very happy when he can’t help his team-mates and always gives his all, doesn’t matter if it’s five weeks or five years on his contract.” “He’s been working really hard to get fit from his injury he sustained against Liverpool, then he came back and got a different one here in training.” United trail fourth-placed Tottenham by three points and Solskjaer now sets points target: “We need as many points as possible. I think if we do get 15 points, we’ll be [in the] top three. But for now, it’s about getting three points against West Ham” Alexis Sanchez is still recovering from an injury and there was some hope that he could feature against West Ham. “He is training with us, he’s trained twice, trained today, I’m not sure if he’s gonna be available, he is injury free but not sure 100 percent for tomorrow, maybe more likely for Barcelona game. Let’s see,” said boss. United are expected busy months, that’s why the Norwegian is set to freshen things up. “I’ve still got options of course to rest one or two because there are games coming up and they’ll all play a part, we had players on the bench on Wednesday night like Jesse [Lingard] and Anthony [Martial] who normally start games. There will be a couple of changes. Let’s see what we’ll decide on.” The Red Devils suffered two defeats in their last two games. United boss Solskjaer has also spoken out on recent form. “I wouldn’t say, you’re never happy when you don’t win games but it’s been a period where we’ve played some good teams. We’ve had some good performances but haven’t had the quality and belief in front of goal that we should have against Wolves and Arsenal, the two league games, we should have won them with the number of chances. We’ve been practising, as a striker, I know how important that little belief is so we’ve been putting balls in the goals. Sometimes you just don’t have that little feel, that confidence, so you have to do it in training and hope it comes out again because we have been fantastic but lately not ruthless or clinical in front of goal,” concluded the Norwegian.

Solskjaer provides injury update for West Ham clash: Young, Herrera, Shaw, Darmian, Valencia