If there’s one area where Manchester United appears to be struggling more than their major rivals, it’s their seemingly ever-extending injury crisis.
As listed by Premier Injuries, Man United have 10 players unavailable, the second-highest amount in the Premier League behind a struggling Chelsea side.
This morning, United’s injury woes got even worse.
The Peoples Person revealed that left-back Sergio Reguilon is the latest player to enter the treatment room, with a minor injury threatening to keep him out of action until after the international break in October.
With Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia both still on the sidelines, United are now without a natural left-back available for selection.
Key centre-back Lisandro Martinez is the day’s other injury casualty, and he could be out of action for up to three months after aggravating a foot injury that he suffered in April.
While United have been boosted by the recoveries of Raphael Varane, Mason Mount, and Sofyan Amrabat, all of whom impressed during United’s 3-0 drubbing of Crystal Palace in the League Cup on Wednesday night, this doesn’t compensate for the fact that further players seem to be continually being ruled out of action.
Still, the question remains – why are United constantly faced with an extensive list of injured players?
Because Erik ten Hag does a good job of keeping details on his players’ injuries under wraps, this proves to be a difficult question to answer.
When Scott McTominay was out for five weeks with an ankle injury, the Dutch manager withheld the real reason for his absence until after the midfielder returned to action.
He also kept the real nature of Varane’s and Mount’s recent injuries under wraps.
But while Ten Hag has done his best to remain secretive, other senior officials have made their feelings known on the matter.
According to several club officials, United players have been largely vulnerable to injuries due to the many fixtures that they have been required to play over the past few seasons.
United played 63 matches in all competitions last season; the most of any team in Europe’s top five leagues.
After remaining secretive for so long, Erik ten Hag finally let the cat out of the bag on his club’s injury crisis, admitting today that this sort of heavy workload is exactly the reason why his squad is struggling.
“Players can’t deal anymore with this overload and I think that’s what you see in this squad at the moment,” the United boss confirmed today in a press conference.
While United did well to add a multitude of new signings to their ranks during the summer transfer window, it will be vital for Ten Hag and his coaching staff to rotate and manage players meticulously, ensuring that they make the most of their now-greater squad depth and working toward preventing further unnecessary injury complications.