England & Man Utd star Ella Toone to miss crucial clashes with Man City & Bayern Munich as well as Lionesses' crunch World Cup qualifier against Spain as injury return date revealed

Toone has not played since December, owing to a hip injury that was initially anticipated to only keep her out until around this time, with United boss Marc Skinner previously highlighting this weekend's game against Man City as one that had been circled as a potential return date for the England international. However, Toone will not be involved when the Red Devils welcome their local rivals to Old Trafford on Saturday, with her comeback potentially not coming until the end of April now.

"The plan is, hopefully, the game after the international break is the aim for her to go, should everything go well," Skinner said, referring to the Women's Super League game away at Tottenham currently scheduled for March 26. If United can overturn a 3-2 first leg deficit and beat Bayern Munich in Germany next week to progress to the semi-finals of the Champions League, that fixture will likely be moved and be replaced by a European clash. "She's training on the field, she's doing individual bits, she will hopefully be back with more team bits soon enough," Skinner added. "The aim is, and the hope is, that we can get her back for after the next international break."

That's a blow for England as much as it's a blow for United. The Lionesses have a massive game against Spain coming up in just a few weeks' time and they will be without Toone, who has had big moments against La Roja and also at Wembley, where the game will be played on April 14, for it. Toone will also miss her country's trip to Iceland a few days later.

Fortunately, England's injury concerns have eased in recent weeks. In attack, Beth Mead is back fit, Lauren James is playing 90 minutes on a regular basis for the first time this season and Chloe Kelly is also getting a run of starts again, having spent time on the sidelines. Still, to be without Toone is a real blow, with Chelsea striker Aggie Beever-Jones also struggling with a knock that could further deplete Sarina Wiegman's forward options.

England have made a good start to World Cup qualifying, beating Iceland and Ukraine, but only the group winners will qualify automatically for next summer's tournament, meaning victory at home to Spain feels absolutely vital if the Lionesses want to avoid the play-off route.

Toone is the headline absentee from this depleted United squad right now, with the Red Devils only able to name four senior outfield players to the bench in Wednesday's defeat to Bayern. Winger Leah Galton hasn't played since December because of a back issue, full-back Anna Sandberg has been out with a knee injury for six weeks and both Dominique Janssen and Ellen Wangerheim missed last weekend's win over Everton, and the clash with Bayern in midweek, due to knocks. Skinner is not expecting any of those four to be back for Saturday's huge game against Man City, as injuries continue to expose a lack of depth in the squad.

There will also be a need to manage the minutes of Hinata Miyazawa, who started Wednesday's defeat despite playing 90 minutes in Japan's triumph over Australia in the Asian Cup final last Saturday, which was played some 10,000 miles away in Sydney. Bayern, by contrast, only used Momoko Tanikawa from the bench despite the 20-year-old, whose goal decided the game, playing much less in the Asian Cup than Miyazawa.

"With Hini, we've had a good open conversation with her," Skinner explained. "She was ready to play, wanting to play. I think it's different. When we come from the UK, three hours of travel down the M6 seems like forever, whereas actually any player that takes flights regularly, they're kind of more resilient to that kind of travel. Hini is one of those.

"We wouldn't risk her. She was fully on board with the plan. In the end, we had to take her off to freshen up. But no, she's fully on board and we've already pre-planned kind of where's the best space for her to get away. I think she'll get away after the game next week. There will be some days off when we go into the next [international] camp, so she'll get some rest period as well."

There is some good news for United though, as their season-defining week continues. Full-back Jayde Riviere, who is slowly building her minutes back up after missing a month, "will be further along with her availability" when the Red Devils host Man City this weekend, while promising teenager Layla Drury will also be back involved. The striker is not in the Champions League squad and that is why she didn't play on Wednesday.

Elisabeth Terland should also get on the pitch, after being an unused sub in midweek. Skinner explained that her lack of minutes was due to "management of player" after the forward "had three games back-to-back and it was within seven days". "We would've looked at bringing her on but it was about, again, managing her with the games coming up," he added. "[She] will hopefully be okay [for Saturday]."

Having the club's top-scorer this season available would be a massive boost ahead of a massive Manchester derby. United are currently sat in second-place in the WSL table but a goalless draw at West Ham last week was a frustrating misstep ahead of a tricky end to the league campaign that also includes a trip to Chelsea, where the Red Devils have never won. Getting a result against City, who are eight points clear at the top of the table, could be necessary if United want to be playing Champions League football again next season.

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