Football

Erik Ten Hag Provides Update on Injured Stars

April 14, 2023 4:59 pm
Erik Ten Hag Provides Update on Injured Stars

Last night, Erik Ten Hag saw his Manchester United side falter to a 2-2 draw with Sevilla in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final. United had taken a 2-0 lead at Old Trafford thanks to two goals from Marcel Sabitzer but things spectacularly unraveled in the second half.

A hopeful ball into the box wasn’t defended properly by Tyrell Malacia who then inadvertently directed the ball into his own net to give Sevilla a lifeline. Then, things got even worse for the home side when Lisandro Martinez went down unchallenged and had to be stretchered off.

Ten Hag had already used made all of his substitutions which meant United had to play the final ten minutes with ten men. After sustained pressure, the away side got their equaliser thanks to another own goal – this time from club captain Harry Maguire.

United will now need to win away in Seville next Thursday if they are to progress through to the semi-finals and they will have to do so with a seriously depleted squad. Along with Lisandro Martinez, Raphael Varane was also forced off with an injury at halftime and Bruno Fernandes’ will be unavailable due to suspension.

An update from the manager

Speaking ahead of United’s game with Nottingham Forest on Sunday, Ten Hag provided updates on all of the injured players at the club. As things currently stand, Marcus Rashford, Scott Mctominay, Donny van de Beek, Luke Shaw, Lisandro Martinez, Raphael Varane, and Alejandro Garnacho are all nursing injuries while Christian Eriksen and Anthony Martial are only just back from long-term layoffs.

Speaking about the two most recently injured players, Varane and Martinez, Ten Hag said:

“I don’t have any new information. It is not even 24 hours since the match so I don’t have a complete diagnosis. So I can’t tell the severity of the injuries at this moment. When we have news we will give it straight to you. But let’s do the medical, do their assessments and full diagnose, complete diagnose, and then we will give you the news.”
varane
Manchester, England, 13th April 2023. Erik Lamela of Sevilla gets ahead of Raphael Varane of Manchester United during the UEFA Europa League match at Old Trafford, Manchester. Picture credit should read: Andrew Yates / Sportimage – Photo by Icon sport
In terms of the players who may be available this weekend, Ten Hag ruled all of the injured players out apart from two. The Dutchman said:
“Are any players available that were missing? For Sunday, yeah, they could be. But we have to see. We have now two sessions to go of training, so I don’t know right now. But it can be that Scott and Luke return to the squad, but we are not sure.”
Ten Hag did also provide some optimism around Marcus Rashford, with the United boss saying that England forward has an outside chance of being fit for the second leg against Sevilla next week.

Suspension concerns for Ten Hag

In addition to injury woes, United have also been plagued by suspensions this season. Casemiro has missed several key fixtures due to suspensions and Bruno Fernandes will be missing when the club takes on Sevilla next week.

There is also a defensive suspension for the FA Cup semi-final that Ten Hag is going to have to negotiate. Harry Maguire, who will now be hugely important for Ten Hag with Varane and Martinez out injured, will be unavailable for the game at Wembley in ten days times. This means that Victor Lindelof may have to pair with a midfielder at the centre of United’s defence for the match against Brighton.

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