Manchester United will attempt to delay the departures of Bryan Mbeumo, Amad Diallo and Noussair Mazraoui to the Africa Cup of Nations.
Tournament regulations mean United should release the trio two weeks before the respective first games of Cameroon, Ivory Coast and Morocco.
That would mean letting them leave around the Premier League encounter with Wolves at Molineux on 8 December.
Full-back Mazraoui’s Morocco host the tournament and play in the opening game against Comoros on 21 December.
Ivory Coast winger Amad and Cameroon forward Mbeumo both play their first matches on 24 December. The final is on 18 January, which raises the possibility of missing eight Premier League games and an FA Cup third-round tie.
However, as Mbeumo and Amad have both been regular starters and Mazraoui is now fit again and offers cover in a number of defensive positions, United are trying to push that back until at least after their following game against Bournemouth on 15 December. United also play at Aston Villa on 21 December.
United succeeded in keeping goalkeeper Andre Onana back until the day before Cameroon’s first game in the competition two years ago. Onana only ended up missing a single game – the FA Cup tie at Newport.
Manager Ruben Amorim said the club will talk to the players’ national federations.
“We have the rules for when we have to release the players [but] we are trying to have the players a bit longer,” the Portuguese said.
“It is not just in our hands. We will see. We will try to arrange something with the federations.”
Even an additional game could be crucial as Amorim says he expects Benjamin Sesko to have recovered from the knee injury he sustained at Tottenham on 8 November around the same time.
If United were missing Sesko, Mbeumo and Amad, it would mean a significant reshuffle to his attack, with Joshua Zirkzee and Kobbie Mainoo, both of whom have been used infrequently this season, potentially being needed.
“He’s going to be out for a few weeks,” was Amorim’s response when asked about Sesko. “It’s not that serious and we have to be careful with him.
“I don’t want to say for sure but when they go, I expect to have Ben back.”
