Manchester United give Antony injury update ahead of FA Cup final

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag claims Antony is unlikely to be fit for the FA Cup final against Manchester City.

Antony was carried off on a stretcher in the first half of United's 4-1 Premier League win over Chelsea last Thursday with an ankle injury but Ten Hag issued an upbeat update on the Brazilian's recovery on Sunday.

However, Ten Hag has now given a fresh update revealing Antony has not made the required progress. "Unlikely. Antony still [has] a chance but a really small chance. He didn’t make progress, so he still has a chance but unlikely he is available."

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United players were ferried to Manchester Airport on Thursday afternoon in blacked-out vans to avoid publicising any squad news.

One player not on the plane to London was Anthony Martial. The striker sustained a hamstring tear during his 23-minute cameo against Fulham on Sunday and United confirmed he is out of the final.

Martial has suffered six separate injuries this season and the FA Cup final is the 33rd match out of 62 that he will miss.

Ten Hag had little interest in discussing Martial's latest injury: "These questions, so many times from the media about absence of players in the last couple of months and every time I say the same answer: it is about the players who are available and many times we were successful.

"So we have a good squad and from the good squad we make a good team."

The first all-Manchester final is possibly the most eagerly anticipated in FA Cup history, with the stakes raised by the possibility of City emulating United's Treble in 1999.

City travel to Istanbul next week for the Champions League final