Carrick reveals 'decision' on Man Utd's Mainoo fitness ahead of crunch Chelsea game

Michael Carrick has given an injury update on Kobbie Mainoo and reveals "decision" on whether he will face Chelsea.

United take on Chelsea, a direct rival for a Champions League place, looking to get back on track after the loss at home to Leeds United

The Reds are currently seven points ahead of the Blues, in sixth place and the top five in the final standings qualify for Europe's premier competition.

Mainoo missed the 2-1 loss to Leeds on Monday with an injury sustained in training and now he is fitness race for the Chelsea game.

“Kobbie, [is doing] little bits yeah, we're working towards it. He's done little bits, so there's a decision to be made there," said Carrick.

Patrick Chinazaekpere Dorgu is getting closer to a return but Matthijs de Ligt is still out.

“Patrick’s not [ready] no,” Carrick added. “He’s going well, he's rehabbing well, he's kind of on track, but he’s not with us in terms of training yet. But he's back on the pitch, as I've already said, so that's positive, that he's doing really well."

Harry Maguire and Lisandro Martinez are both suspended, which means the boss has a big decision to make at the heart of his defence.

Maguire had an additional game added to his ban for the red card at Bournemouth, while Martinez is sidelined for three matches, in the wake of his controversial dismissal for pulling hair in the Leeds game.

"To be honest, there's not much we can react to," said Carrick. "Massively disappointed, of course. I think quite a few reasons to be disappointed in a big way over those types of situations over the last three weeks.

"But, obviously, now we've got to move on, the decisions have been made, it’s something that we're really disappointed with in many ways, but that's it now. We've got to move on and we will do."

Ayden Heaven is a possible replacement, with the boss clear about the potential of the England Under-20 international.

“I think Ayden’s in a good place," he said. “Well, I know he’s in a good place. He’s obviously still young and he's progressing through the early stages of his career, so I think it’s pretty natural for him to play some games and maybe not some others.

“He's training really well, he's learning, he's listening, he wants to improve. So, I think it’s pretty natural, for a centre-half of his age, he’s probably well ahead of schedule in terms of the games that he's played.

“He's trained well, I've got no worries. He went away and played with England a couple of weeks ago and done well, so yeah, [he's] looking forward to the game, for sure.”