Coventry City could have their Moroccan stars Moustapha Hadji and Youssef Chippo back from the African Nations Cup in time for Saturday’s big Premiership match at Manchester United.

Morocco play Nigeria tomorrow needing at least one point to ensure progress to the next round of the tournament.

But if they lose then Tunisia or Congo could go through instead. In that event Hadji and Chippo will immediately fly back to England to join up with their Coventry team mates on Friday.

The question to arise then, would be whether manager Gordon Strachan is prepared to select them for the match against United.

He might consider the fact that they played on Thursday and then had a tiring flight, a big enough reason to leave them out. But it would be a big boost for the team and the fans after the FA Cup defeat by Charlton Athletic, to have them sitting on the substitutes’ bench at Old Trafford.