He began by giving news on the reason why, as well as updating on player availability for a match at Kingsmeadow which could lead to the Blues taking over at the top of the WSL table.

‘We are hoping Emma is going to be back tomorrow, it is just a viral illness so hopefully she can shrug it off,’ Green reported.

‘She wasn't feeling the best during the second half of the Brighton game and still felt a little bit under the weather yesterday. So hopefully she'll have recovered today and be back in for training tomorrow.

‘We'll have to wait and see, hopefully she'll be good to go. If she isn't, Denise [Reddy] and I will take the team as we did earlier in the season. Emma has still got access to the training footage and there'll be regular communication if she wasn't to make it on Sunday, as we had earlier in the season. She'll have a direct earpiece to Denise on the sideline but we’re hoping she'll be back if not tomorrow then certainly on Sunday.’

Chelsea Women injury news

Moving on, the general manager spoke about three players who will not make the game.

‘We're still going to be without Fran Kirby, Pernille Harder and Katerina Svitkova, same as the previous game. Fran has had a second injection into her knee and we’ve just got to wait and see how that settles down over the next couple of weeks. So we've got no timeframe on her.

‘Katerina is continuing her rehab from the surgery on her knee. That's going to be months rather than weeks. Pernille has started to go out on the grass to do some pitch rehab, so she's doing well, but it's going to be probably at least a few weeks or a month before she can join in with the rest of the team, so she's still some way away from being in a squad. But she's making some good progress and certainly it's good to see her back out there on the grass.’

Terrific game

Despite the missing three, there is no shortage of top-class players available for a match that can be watched live on the BBC. Chelsea beat Man United 3-1 away in November and trail them by one point having played one game less.

Blues spirits were boosted after last weekend’s Conti Cup final defeat by a 3-1 win in the league against Brighton on Wednesday.

‘Everybody that came in for the Brighton game acquitted themselves really well and has staked a claim to perhaps start against United,’ said Green. ‘We certainly have a great squad and we're really pleased with the reaction to the cup final defeat, and we'll be looking to build on that going into the game on Sunday.

‘We’re used to these big games, we’re used to playing against United. We had a good result up there against them earlier in the season. We know they've got strengths and qualities and we're going to have to do our best. Likewise, we've got a lot of quality in our own side so it's going to be a terrific game. We're really looking forward to it and ready to take on the challenge.’