Harry Maguire joins Manchester United injury list and will not travel for Bayern Munich clash as Harry Kane defends teammate

Harry Maguire did not travel with the Manchester United squad to face Bayern Munich on Wednesday.

The former captain of the Red Devils is absent due to injury, the club indicates, although the details are not known.

Maguire did not feature in the weekend’s 3-1 defeat to Brighton and has only played 23 minutes for the club so far this season, in a 3-1 defeat to Arsenal.

He actually played more for England, playing 135 minutes in matches against Ukraine and Scotland.

This has seen England manager Gareth Southgate having to defend his trusted pillar, and ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League clash, live on talkSPORT, Harry Kane backed the under-fire defender, calling him one of the greatest English defenders of all time.

“I think H got some really unnecessary scrutiny,” Kane said before the match.

“I’ve probably been a bit of a scapegoat in terms of how the team has been performing lately.

“He’s a very good friend of mine, he’s a great guy, a very hard-working professional.

“From an England point of view, he was one of our best defenders and one of the best defenders in our country’s history in an England shirt.

“It’s part of our game now, it’s part of football. You’re scrutinized all over social media, but knowing him, all he’ll want to do is work harder, improve, and stay focused.

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“We are fully behind him in the national team. I know the coach came out and fully supported it.

“There will always be noise around the players, but the most important thing is that we have a very strong core with England and that is the most important thing for big matches and big tournaments.”

Without the 30-year-old, United have called up a 21-man squad for the trip to Bavaria, with four new summer signings all on the plane.

Rasmus Hojlund, Andre Onana and Sergio Reguilon are all likely to feature, while Altay Bayindir will be available to replace Onana.

This match is one of the most anticipated of the 2023/24 group stages, with two titans of European football far from their best.

Former Tottenham player Harry Kane will also face an English team again for the first time since his summer move to Munich. He has five goals conceded in 19 matches against the Red Devils.