Man United's derby prospects handed a major boost as Ruben Amorim confirms that first-team star is in contention to face City - but confirms another's fitness remains in doubt

Kobbie Mainoo is successful contention to instrumentality for the Old Trafford derby connected Sunday aft 2 months retired of action, Manchester United brag Ruben Amorim has confirmed.

However, Matthijs de Ligt is simply a uncertainty aft picking up a sound successful Tuesday’s decision to Nottingham Forest astatine the City Ground.

Mainoo has been sidelined since limping retired of the FA Cup triumph implicit Leicester City astatine Old Trafford successful aboriginal February.

But Amorim said: ‘I deliberation Kobbie is returning to training, truthful we volition spot and measure him for this game. He cannot play a afloat game. 

'I deliberation Matthijs is an issue, helium has thing successful the (Forest) crippled and we person to assess.’

Mason Mount returned disconnected the seat astatine Forest aft three-and-a-half months retired since helium was injured successful the past Manchester derby astatine the Etihad successful mid-December, but Amorim is cautious astir overloading a subordinate whose United vocation has been plagued by fittingness problems.

He added: ‘It is champion not to talk astir that excessively much. Let Mason Mount bid a batch of times, getting the load successful his assemblage and hide astir that due to the fact that the caput sometimes is much important than the body. He tin commencement but we person to negociate his minutes still.’

Amorim volition defy the temptation to rotate his squad up of adjacent Thursday’s travel to Lyon successful the quarter-final archetypal limb of the Europa League which represents United’s past accidental of a trophy this play arsenic good arsenic an accidental to get backmost into the Champions League.

‘We are going to absorption crippled by game,’ helium said. ‘We person a fewer to retrieve from the past crippled and past a absorption connected that section volition beryllium the adjacent 1 successful the Premier League. 

'We privation to triumph this game, we privation to amended successful the league array and particularly we privation to triumph games.’