Lyon suffer major injury blow ahead of Manchester United showdown

Olympique Lyonnais have suffered a major injury blow ahead of their UEFA Europa League quarter-final against Manchester United in two week’s time, with Malick Fofana (19) ruled out with injury, according to a report from L’Équipe.

Fofana suffered a sprained knee whilst on international duty with Belgium and will now miss three weeks of action. It means that he will miss Lyon’s trip to RC Strasbourg Alsace on Friday night but even more importantly, he is now expected to miss the first leg against Manchester United on 10th April.

However, Fofana is expected to be fit for the second leg of the Europa League quarter final at Old Trafford one week later. The Belgian forward has been a key player for Lyon this season, scoring 10 goals and registering five assists in 35 appearances in all competitions.

Meanwhile, for Friday’s match against Strasbourg, Rayan Cherki is also a doubt after being forced to return to his club after he suffered a bruised foot playing for France’s U21s. There is hope, however, that he can start aganinst Les Alsaciens. Thiago Almada and Nicolás Tagliafico, however, are not expected to be able to start having featured for Argentina in the early hours of Wednesday morning.