Tuesday saw Harry Maguire become the latest Manchester United player to find himself on the unavailable list. He joins Mason Mount, Luke Shaw, Raphaël Varane, Tyrell Malacia, Kobbie Mainoo, Sofyan Amrabat and (as we just learned yesterday) Aaron Wan-Bissaka on the injured list.
That is nothing short of an injury crisis; plain and simple.
Manchester United at Bayern Munich FYIs
Kickoff: Wed. Sept. 20, 8 pm, Allianz Arena, Munich, Bavaria, Germany
Competition: UEFA Champions League Group B
Team News: Bayern Munich Manchester United
Starting XI Predictions: Bayern Munich Manchester United
Fun Fact: none, not right now, if you’re a Manchester United fan.
Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK
Google Result Probability: Bayern Munich 62% Draw 20% Manchester United 18%
The actual specific injury, and the extent/severity of it are unknown at this time. Meanwhile Antony and Jadon Sancho will also be missing for the big match tomorrow night at Bayern Munich, with the former suspended and the latter frozen out.
It all means major selection issues for manager Erik ten Hag.
One thing is true, from the start of last season I almost never started with the best starting XI, it was always something like an injury,” he said at his UCL preview press conference today.
“But you have to deal with it and we always get the results, apart from the period we are in now. It’s a concern but that’s why we constructed the squad with depth, so we can deal with it. The squad can deal with it.
Injuries always come in top football because we’re living on the edge and injuries are coming up. We analyse why things happen but we also have to deal with the facts and it’s always about the players available. We have a strong side and we have to get the best out of it.”
On one hand, United will get their toughest UCL group stage game out of the way now, meaning to quote Howard Jones “things can only get better.
On other hand, taking on a side that never loses European group stage matches at home, like, ever, is the polar opposite of what you need right now.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager 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.”
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