Manchester United suffers triple injury blow ahead of Leeds and Barcelona fixtures
Erik ten Hag does not expect Anthony Martial, Antony, and Scott McTominay to be available for next week’s first leg of the Europa League playoff against Barcelona.
The trio has been ruled out for Sunday’s Premier League match against Leeds United, and Ten Hag indicated that they will also miss next week’s European match in Catalonia.
“I don’t expect but we have some days, obviously,” Ten Hag said of their possible return at Elland Road, “but I don’t expect it and if I can oversee it until now I don’t see any new problems coming up.
“Will they be back against Barcelona? I think same answer. I can’t say for 100 per cent but I don’t expect it.”
Martial has a hip injury, Antony has a leg injury, and McTominay has missed the last three games with an injury of unknown nature.
Casemiro is still suspended, Christian Eriksen is out until late April with an ankle injury, and Donny van de Beek will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury.
Ten Hag acknowledged that a season in which the World Cup was held in November and December added to the workload of the players, but he stated that Eriksen’s and Martial’s injuries were unrelated to the Qatari finals.
“So if you see Christian Eriksen, you can’t see that as an impact from a tough season,” Ten Hag added, “but definitely, it’s a tough season with the World Cup in between and a lot of load, overload, from the players, that’s quite clear. That process is already longer term coming on, that the load on the players is too much.
“Christian Eriksen, you can’t put that under that reason (of the World Cup). Martial, you can’t put that under that reason. It’s really individual, how we can see it and how we find reasons why things happen.
“But also injuries, if you play top football, you go across limits and injuries will come up, that’s also a normal issue, I would say.”
Manchester United suffers triple injury blow ahead of Leeds and Barcelona fixtures
