New Delhi: The Premier League season is only a little over two weeks away when Manchester United play host to Fulham in the first game of the season on 17th August 2024. The club underwent an overhaul this past summer following Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s takeover, which has seen the British billionaire take charge of the club’s operating decisions in addition to owning a 25% stake in the club.
Following the takeover, there was an air of excitement and optimism around Manchester United. However, that air of positiveness seems to be waning away a bit after their pre-season was hindered by injuries to key players that potentially sees a few of them unavailable for the club’s first game against Fulham. A total of four key players that been taken off injured in just the last two games for the club, against Arsenal and Real Betis.
The Red Devils’ two best young prospects, Rasmus Hojlund and Leny Yoro were taken off the field after suffering injuries in the 2-1 defeat to Arsenal in their pre-season fixture. New signing Yoro was only playing his second game for the club when he went down at the half an hour mark of the game and after consultation with the medical team, it was decided that he shouldn’t take further part in the game.
He’s suffered a suspected metatarsal fracture and early scans reveal that the Frenchman will be out for three months, missing the first quarter of the new season. It is expected he’ll be out till autumn but he will undergo further assessments by the team’s medical staff over the next two days, and that will provide a clearer picture of how long will the 18-year-old be out of action. PSG claimed that they detected a weakness in his metatarsal and that was the reason they didn’t match United’s offer for the defender.
🚨🇫🇷 Manchester United are concerned that Leny Yoro (18) will face a lengthy period of time out with injury… ❌🏥
He is currently on crutches and wearing a protective boot, there are fears that he may have a fracture, reports @guardian_sport. pic.twitter.com/3R05ogdZkr
— EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) July 31, 2024
In the same game, Manchester United’s new number nine Rasmus Hojlund also suffered an injury. The Dane scored in the defeat to Arsenal before going out in the 16th minute following a hamstring issue. It looked as if the player’s injury was a minor one and that he’d return within 2-3 weeks but now it’s expected that the striker will be out for six weeks, making him miss the start to the season.
New signing Joshua Zirkzee, who hasn’t yet joined up with his new teammates, is expected to lead the line in the game against Fulham as they are the only two recognized first-team strikers at the club currently.
Further bad luck followed the club in their next game against Real Betis which saw two more first-teamers be injured. Marcus Rashford was forced off with an injury to his ankle that looked to be serious as Real Betis midfielder Sergi Altimira stepped on his foot. The Englishman looked sharp before being withdrawn, scoring a penalty and assisting Casemiro’s winner.
Manchester United during their preseason tour:
◉ Leny Yoro is out for three months with a fractured metatarsal
◉ Rasmus Hojlund is out for six weeks with a hamstring injury
◉ Marcus Rashford AND Antony were subbed off with suspected injuries against Real Betis
It’s not going… pic.twitter.com/0rKjs6TNTn
— OneFootball (@OneFootball) August 1, 2024
Rashford endured a forgetful 2023/24 season as he scored just eight goals across all competitions and needed to have a good pre-season to still claim a berth in the starting lineup but now seems like he will also miss the start of the season. However, no word has yet come out on how long the player will be out for but he headed straight down the tunnel after being taken off the field.
Lastly, Brazilian winger Anthony also came off injured in the game against Betis. The winger could only spend 23 minutes on the field as he was a second-half substitute in the first place. He was clearly and rightly so frustrated after being taken off so soon after coming on but the extent or the type of his injury wasn’t clear and it remains to be seen how serious his injury is and how long he’ll be out for.
Manchester United had a torrid time with injuries last season that saw key players like Luke Shaw, Mason Mount, Tyrell Malacia, Lisandro Martinez, and Harry Maguire all spend considerable time on the sidelines leading Erik Ten Hag to field 14 different centre-back pairings. He would be sweating over the fitness of his key players this season as he certainly wouldn’t want a repeat of the previous season.
The optimism around Manchester United is waning away towards the end of pre-season following injuries to key players in back-to-back friendlies ahead of the new season. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
