Manchester United's Harry Maguire will be absent from the team's upcoming trip to Chelsea due to an additional one-match ban imposed for misconduct. An independent regulatory commission charged Maguire on April 1 for behaving in an "improper manner" after using profanity towards fourth official Matt Donohue following his red card against Bournemouth on March 20. Maguire was reacting to being ejected from the game for denying a goalscoring opportunity when he pushed Bournemouth's Evanilson, before Eli Junior Kroupi scored from the spot to equalize in added time.
Having already missed the 2-1 defeat to Leeds while serving his initial suspension for the red card, Maguire will now miss the trip to Stamford Bridge on Saturday due to the additional ban. The 33-year-old admitted to the offense and was also fined £30,000. The FA's written reasons revealed that Donohue claimed Maguire said, "You're a joke, you're all a f****** joke," as he left the field, although Maguire claimed he did not insult the fourth official but said "something along the lines of 'it is a f****** joke.'" United will now be without both Maguire and Lisandro Martinez against Chelsea after the Argentina centre-back was sent off for pulling Dominic Calvert-Lewin's hair during the defeat to Leeds. Analysis suggests that with Maguire now suspended for the game against Chelsea, Manchester United's centre-back options are limited once again.
Lisandro Martinez is also banned, and Matthijs de Ligt is still sidelined with a back injury that has kept him out since November. The team's only natural centre-backs, Leny Yoro and Ayden Heaven, have shown their inexperience this season. Luke Shaw is a more tried and tested option, but the physical challenge of Joao Pedro could lead to a more conventional option being chosen. Casemiro played centre-back when the squad was stretched under Erik ten Hag, but it feels unlikely that Carrick would restrict his side's limited options in midfield further.
A final option might be to delve into the team's deep youth ranks, with eighteen-year-old Godwill Kukonki being a potential choice.