Soccer-Man Utd sweating over Maguire availability for Europa final

FILE PHOTO: Premier League - Aston Villa v Manchester United

MANCHESTR, England (Reuters) - Manchester United skipper Harry Maguire faces a race to be fit for their Europa League final against Villarreal on May 26 after sustaining an ankle ligament injury, the club said on Tuesday.

England international Maguire, who has been ever-present in United's defence starting all 34 of the second-placed outfit's Premier League games this season, suffered the problem in Sunday's 3-1 victory at Aston Villa.

The 28-year-old, who was hurt when Villa's Anwar El Ghazi landed on his ankle, was already out of Tuesday's match against his former club Leicester City and could miss United's remaining league games with Liverpool, Fulham and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

"He's obviously had the scans and the good news is there is no fracture," United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer told the club's website https://www.manutd.com/en/news/detail/harry-maguire-injury-scan-update-from-ole-gunnar-solskjaer ahead of the Leicester clash.

"There's ligament damage but hopefully we will see him again this season. Hopefully, he'll be ready for the final."

(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris)