The injury crisis shows no signs of abating at Manchester United. In fact, it’s only getting worse now, as Marcus Rashford, Mason Mount, Sofyan Amrabat, Scott McTominay and Wily Kambala are all new injury concerns, to be added on top of a list that was already extremely long to begin with.
There is nothing short of an absolute disaster of a crisis of a train wreck of a ship wreck, fitness wise in central defense, so we’ll begin there.
Manchester United vs Sheffield United FYIs
Kickoff: Wed. Apr. 24 8pm, Old Trafford
United Preview Content: Team News Starting XI Prediction
Latest on Erik ten Hag’s job status: go here
Latest on the United Front Office Shakeup: go here
Man United Team News
Please be patient with us, as it is going to take us awhile to go through it all. Raphael Varane (unspecified muscular injury) is out until sometime in May with Lisandro Martinez (calf strain) looking at a similar timeline for return. That’s the first choice center back pairing. Now on to the second- Victor Lindelof (hamstring) and Jonny Evans (“shorter-term muscle injury”) remain out, with the club providing no real honest information about their potential returns.
Youngster Willy Kambwala has been called up to the senior team, out of need, to fill the void.
But now he’s out, with an unspecified issue, and nothing really known about his potential return.
Expect Casemiro to have to play in central defense again Wednesday night. Elsewhere McTominay is a doubt against Sheffield, after having been seen suffering from discomfort in the groin area, and needing to be subbed off in the FA Cup semifinal win. However, reports indicate that he doesn’t have a serious issue to contend with.
Rashford had to be subbed in extra time of the penalty shootout win over Coventry City, and was seen limping postgame in the mixed zone. No word yet on the severity of his issue. Amrabat and Mount did not travel to Wembley, and the club did not tell us why.
Nor did they tell us when they might be back. Lots of coyness and lack of transparency going on here.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to Ravens Wire, part of the USA Today SMG’s NFL Wire Network and the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and the Washington Times. You can follow him on Twitter.