Andre Onana could return to Man Utd this week and be available vs Newport County amid AFCON concerns

Andre Onana could be in goal for Manchester United as soon as Sunday if Cameroon fail to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations knockout stages.

Rigobert Song's side are currently third in Group C, having taken just one point from their opening two matches. Onana missed the opening draw against Guinea after deciding to play for United in the 2-2 draw against Tottenham, which was just 24 hours beforehand.

The 27-year-old flew straight to host nation, the Ivory Coast, overnight but was not in the squad due to a lack of preparation time. He did start against current champions Senegal on Friday but was underwhelming in a 3-1 defeat.

Cameroon's final group stage game is against Gambia on Tuesday but there will be plenty of focus on the other fixture, which kicks off at the same time. Senegal face Guinea in a first-vs-second clash and with the former already through, a win or draw for Guinea will see them claim automatic progression at Cameroon's expense.

The expanded version of the tournament this year means that as well as the top two from each group - six groups in total - the four best third-placed teams also squeeze through and so Cameroon will still have hope regardless of results elsewhere.

It is likely they will need to beat Gambia in order to stand any chance of progressing, however, with a draw taking them to two points. Ivory Coast finished third in Group A with three points and that will likely be the benchmark for those that follow.

The group stage games will be complete by Wednesday and so Cameroon, and any other teams waiting on a third-placed finish, will discover their fate by then. Should Song's side be eliminated, then it could see Onana return straight to the UK - and he could even be between the posts at Newport County  on Sunday.

Onana proved his commitment to retaining that No.1 spot under Erik ten Hag by putting his national team spot in jeopardy to play against Tottenham. The £47.2million summer signing even decided to stay and feature in the FA Cup win over League One Wigan Athletic the week before, a game in which many supporters expected Altay Bayindir to be handed a long-awaited debut.

If Onana does return and starts at Newport, then he would not have missed a single game for United. It would also likely starve second-choice Bayindir of his first United appearance since signing from Fenerbahce in the summer.