Man Utd without Gabby George and Fridolina Rolfo for WCL qualifier at SK Brann

Manchester United will be without Gabby George and Fridolina Rolfo for the first leg of their Champions League qualifier against SK Brann.

United travel to Norway on Thursday as they bid to qualify for the group stages for the first time.

But boss Marc Skinner revealed at his pre-match press conference that while George and Rolfo are close to returning from injuries, they will not make the trip.

However, the duo should be involved against London City Lionesses in the Women’s Super League on Sunday.

“They are training, they will probably be involved at the weekend,” Skinner said.

“They won’t make the trip, just because they’ve got a few bits that they need to do. Both were training (on Tuesday) with the team, so, all in all, looking really good.

“We just have to be careful with these games coming thick and fast, so both should be available at the weekend.”

Skinner also revealed that Hannah Blundell will play an hour for United’s under-21s on Wednesday afternoon, her first match since giving birth to her baby daughter.

The Red Devils beat PSV Eindhoven and Hammarby to get to the third qualifying round but now face their toughest test yet.

“It’s hard, because when you watch most of their games, because they’re such a dominant team in Norway, they tend to have a lot of the ball,” Skinner added.

“So, you don’t really see them defend that much. We’ve watched all their games, the two recent qualification games as well.

“We know the team that we’re playing against, we’ve got to be professional, we’ve got to give high energy.

“I think there’s something like 14,000 tickets sold, so it’s going to be a raucous atmosphere, but I think the Hammarby game probably prepared us for that.

“I want to see if we can be the team that makes them defend a little bit more.”