Man Utd welcome back two long-term absentees ahead of Europa League semi-final | OneFootball

Amad Diallo and Matthijs de Ligt were both fit enough to get back on the training pitch before Manchester United take on Athletic Club in Thursday's Europa League semi-final.

The two players have been among the club's top performers in a campaign which may be best forgotten. Amad scored six goals and created another five during his first 14 appearances under Ruben Amorim, flourishing whether he lined up as a wing-back or part of the attacking triumvirate before sustaining a serious ankle injury in February.

It was initially thought that Amad would miss the remainder of the campaign before he embarked upon a staggering recovery to fight his way back into contention for the club's crucial European climax.

De Ligt's return has not been quite so widely lauded, but the Dutch defender will be warmly welcomed back after missing the club's last six matches. In his absence, United won just once and conceded 12 times.

United will need their strongest available XI to overcome Athletic in front of their raucous home crowd on Thursday evening. San Mames, a stadium known as 'the Cathedral of Football', has not seen many home defeats this season. Athletic are unbeaten in European competition on home soil this term and have lost just once in front of their own fans since August.

The Red Devils have been beaten on their previous two trips to Bilbao. Marcelo Bielsa's full-throttle outfit smothered Sir Alex Ferguson's side in 2012 en route to the Europa League final, while the first iteration of the Busby Babes were beaten 5-3 in the Basque Country 68 years ago.

It remains to be seen if either Amad or De Ligt will be thrown straight into the searing heat of San Mames. United are dealing with a potentially season-ending injury for Diogo Dalot, opening up a void at wing-back which could be directly filled by Amad. Alternatively, De Ligt's insertion into the back-three could free Noussair Mazraoui to shuffle onto the right flank.