Kobbie Mainoo's absence from Man Utd squad vs Tottenham explained

Manchester United's young midfielder Kobbie Mainoo will not be taking to the pitch against Tottenham due to an injury. Mainoo did not join the squad on their journey down to London on Friday.

Ruben Amorim did not provide any specific team news during his pre-match press conference on Thursday, but it has been confirmed that Mainoo is sidelined due to an injury, ruling him out of the clash at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Jack Fletcher has been called up to the squad as a replacement for Mainoo.

This move maintains United's impressive 88-year record of featuring an academy graduate in every matchday squad. United have proudly included an academy graduate in their squad for a staggering 4,332 consecutive games.

"I don't want to be the guy that broke that record," Amorim stated back in September, emphasising the importance of this tradition. "If you see the past of Manchester United, it's built on kids that grew up here and stayed here for a long time. I think that should be our goal in the future. So I will try to maintain that."

Mainoo has yet to start a Premier League game this season. His only starting appearance was against Grimsby Town at Blundell Park in the Carabao Cup second round.

The 20-year-old expressed a desire to go out on loan during the summer transfer window in order to gain more regular playing time, but Amorim denied the request, explaining that Mainoo was competing with Bruno Fernandes.

So far this season, Mainoo has made seven appearances, all from the bench, in league matches.