Manchester United’s pre-season injury woes continued as Aaron Wan‑Bissaka, Victor Lindelöf and Jonny Evans were all forced off during the 3-0 friendly defeat against Liverpool in South Carolina.
Erik ten Hag has had to deal with several problems during the club’s pre-season tour of the US having lost the new signing Leny Yoro for three months with a foot injury, while the striker Rasmus Højlund picked up a hamstring strain in their defeat against Arsenal.
United encountered more problems in their win against Real Betis as Marcus Rashford and Antony were withdrawn with problems. Both returned to play some part in the defeat by Liverpool, but the defensive trio of Wan-Bissaka, Lindelöf and Evans all appeared unable to continue during the game.
Lindelöf was taken off at half‑time as a precaution while Evans was withdrawn because of illness. Wan‑Bissaka, who has been linked with West Ham during the transfer window, went down in the 80th minute and was treated on the field before James Scanlon replaced him, while the 21-year-old Will Fish was also unable to continue following a challenge with the Liverpool forward Harvey Blair. Harry Maguire was left out of the game against Liverpool as a precaution.
Ten Hag told MUTV: “We have to see what has gone on. The assessment, of course, with Will Fish is it’s an impact injury. We also had to sub Jonny Evans at half-time because he was ill. Victor Lindelöf was a precaution. So yeah, there are some injuries, but we have to see how bad it will be.
“Pre-season is always tough. Harry Maguire, as a precaution, we leave him out. And we had, of course, some injuries, but that is part of club football. We have to develop our team and make some good progression.”
Arne Slot said his side still have room for improvement despite their 3-0 win. The new Liverpool manager, who replaced Jürgen Klopp in May, also oversaw wins against Arsenal and Real Betis. Liverpool face Sevilla next at Anfield before visiting the promoted side Ipswich Town for their Premier League opener on 17 August.
Asked if he was pleased with his side’s performances so far, the Dutchman said: “Yes I was, but not with all of them. We are very happy with the result, we scored some really nice goals … very positive tour. But I don’t think we had enough control over the game, I think we gave away too many chances. United deserved more than a 3-0 loss but it’s also our quality that we do score our own chances.
“We will see how players [returning from holidays] fit into the team. We need to work hard in the upcoming two weeks to be ready.”
Elsewhere on US soil, Barcelona scored a 2-1 win over Real Madrid in a competitive clásico in New Jersey.
After the action was delayed by more than an hour due to lightning in the area, Pau Víctor scored either side of half-time to give Hansi Flick’s side a 2-0 lead before Nico Paz pulled one back for Madrid.
Source: theguardian.com
