It was previously thought that Juan Mata would be shut down for the season given that he suffered a groin injury that required surgery. Turns out he will return to action tomorrow night in the Europa League semifinal against Celta Vigo. As last week developed we learned that the Manchester United midfielder would indeed be back, sooner rather than later, as he made a blog posting indicating that he was rapidly on the mend.
Then on Friday United Manager Jose Mourinho said that Mata would be returning ahead of Chris Smalling or Phil Jones.
Mata was named to the team sheet for United’s 1-1 draw with Swansea, but he did not see any action in match. Following the contest he was then seen training on the Old Trafford pitch. Today, at United’s press opportunity (watch the entire session at this link) Manager Jose Mourinho indicated that Juan Mata will play, and could start, but won’t go the entire 90 minutes.
“Mata was injured for a while, but he is ready to play,” Mourinho said. “He is experienced and one of the few players who have played Euro semifinals and finals, so it is nothing new for him.”
“The only risk is that he can probably not play 90 minutes. If he starts, he cannot finish the game, but if from the bench, no problem. If selected, he can play perfectly.”
Here is video footage of Juan Mata training at the Theatre of Dreams.
Juan Mata after the game, meanwhile Jones and Smalling sit at home watching 'Not Going Out'.
— . (@Pogbaganda) April 30, 2017
Juan Mata did a long warm up/down session on pitch after match. Probably will start vs Celta Vigo #mufc
— Stuart Mathieson (@StuMathieson7) April 30, 2017
Jose Mourinho also said that he expects to return from players from injuries and back into action Thursday night. Here’s a link to more on that.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes to WGN CLTV and KOZN.
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