What a shame for Manchester United. Just when they were starting to get healthier, at the time they needed it most, with the biggest game on the calendar approaching, a new concentric circle of hell opened up. David de Gea, starting goalkeeper for both Manchester United and the Spanish national team, went down with injury during the Spain-Sweden Euro qualifier.
Spain manager Robert Moreno said in postgame that De Gea tried to play through the pain of an abductor injury (it looks like he seemingly hurt himself on a goal kick) before having to come off.
“He had pain in the abductor muscle but he received treatment at halftime and wanted to keep playing,” said Moreno. “He gave us his word, but in the end he couldn’t continue.”
De Gea has pretty much been United’s MVP in the post-Fergie years and he hasn’t missed a Premier League game since May of 2018. He’s certainly a doubt for the arch-rivalry clash on Sunday, meaning Sergio Romero would likely get the call in between the sticks.
The emergency goalkeeper, Lee Grant would then move up to back up status.
It’s such a bad break for United, who are reportedly returning several key players to fitness for this one. Of course, Liverpool have positive fitness news for this match, one in which they are deservedly heavily favored, too. Their No. 1, Alisson, is set to play for the first time since opening night.
United needed all hands on deck in order to have a chance in this one, so this is a huge set back to say the least.
Liverpool at Manchester United: Sunday October 20, 4:30 pm, Old Trafford
Team News Articles: United Liverpool
Early match preview: go to this link
Odds: Liverpool win 4/5, Man United win 5/4
Google Result Probability: Liverpool win 55%, Man United win 24%, Draw 21%
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
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