Manchester United Injury Woes: Erik Ten Hag’s Pre-Season Problems
Manchester United’s pre-season has gotten off to a rocky start, with new signing Leny Yoro forced off the pitch with an injury in their 2-1 defeat to Arsenal at SoFi Stadium in California.
Yoro, who joined United from Lille earlier this month for a reported £62m, was replaced by Antony early in the second half after struggling with a knock. The 22-year-old’s injury is potentially more serious than that of Rasmus Hojlund, who was also taken off after feeling discomfort in his hamstring.
According to The Times, clubs usually wait a day before scanning players’ injuries as the swelling around the affected area needs to subside before an accurate assessment of the problem can be obtained. United will have to wait until Monday to get a clearer picture of Yoro and Hojlund’s injuries.
Manager Erik ten Hag is keen to stress that the club has made changes behind the scenes to cope with injuries after being decimated last season. "We already made our decisions, we appointed a new club doctor last season and he started late in the season but now he can start fresh and be in the lead," he said. "We appointed a new head physio, so we made changes, we changed strategies in medical and performance to improve but that is normal."
However, Ten Hag also acknowledged the congested fixture list as a major factor in United’s injury woes last season. "The amount of games. The fixture list. The load on the players, the pressure on the players is so high and we are not the only team with so many injuries," he added. "Across the Premier League, there were so many injuries, we were not even the worst, bad luck, we had them at the end of the season in the back four and it cost us a lot of points."
United will be hoping Yoro and Hojlund are fit enough to face Real Betis in their next pre-season friendly on Thursday before their final warm-up match against Liverpool on Sunday. The Red Devils will then face Manchester City in the Community Shield on August 10, with their opening Premier League game against Fulham to be played on August 16.
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