Man United guaranteed to be without seven stars vs Ipswich as Ruben Amorim blow confirmed

Ruben Amorim has a task ahead of him to turn things around at Manchester United but despite the lowly league table position he inherits, there is a sense of optimism at Old Trafford. After two weeks of settling in during the international break, it is now time for business.

Not only does Amorim have the challenge of reinvigorating a squad which has underperformed for some time, he is expected to do it via a significant tactical switch to a back three. It is something which will pose new questions of the United players, who have seen their suitability for a formation change analysed aplenty since Amorim's arrival was confirmed.

To complicate things further ahead of the trip to Ipswich Town on Sunday, Kieran McKenna's side are sure to be not only fired up the chance to cause a shock, but also full of confidence after beating Tottenham just over 14 days ago. Matters are made even tougher when considering that Amorim won't have a full quota of options available.

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As has been the case for much of the past 18 months, United continue to be plagued by injury. It is not an ideal for scenario for Amorim to walk into. For starters, at least four players are expected to be absent for the game.

Although there is a chance that Kobbie Mainoo returns - he trained ahead of the trip to Portman Road having been out for over a month with a thigh injury - Luke Shaw is still likely to be out. He hasn't played since February for United but is another who has found himself on the grass at Carrington as well.

Shaw is a natural fit for the left wingback spot in Amorim's preferred 3-4-3/3-4-2-1 system but hasn't been fit for regular football in over two years. The same is true of Tyrell Malacia, who did play against Huddersfield Town for the Under-21 side and featured in training under Amorim this week. It may well still be too soon for him to be making senior matches just yet, though.

Leny Yoro is in a similar camp. He is taking steps to make a United debut sooner rather than later but may well also go to the academy sides first as well. It is the curse of the backline, too, with Harry Maguire and Lisandro Martinez both doubts.

Maguire has been working on his rehabilitation for almost six weeks now without much indication of being back in the fold. Meanwhile, Martinez surprised Argentina boss Lionel after withdrawing from the squad with a back problem.

"We didn’t expect the case of Lisandro," he said. "We saw that he had suffered a blow to his back, but apparently, he had no problem, just pain. When he arrived here, the pain increased a bit, he underwent tests and is not fit to be here."

Fellow centre-back Victor Lindelof is another struggling. He was dealt a blow during the break whilst playing for Sweden and appears unlikely to be able to return.

Dan Gore is back in training, fortunately, but is not yet ready to be selected, it is understood. He is first expected to play for the Under-21s in the Premier League 2 next week. Tom Collyer is also out on the grass having been out since the start of the month.

The good news for United is that Malacia, Mainoo, and Yoro are all making progress at a vital stage early on under Amorim but there are doubts over if they are ready to try and help the team beat Ipswich on Sunday. In total it could be as many as nine players out. An optimist could suggest that Mainoo, Shaw, and perhaps Yoro are closing in on at least being able to make the bench.