Manchester United have a new injury/fitness concern, in midfielder Mason Mount. The good news is, it sounds pretty minor, although it was significant enough to keep him out of Sunday’s 3-2 win over Fulham.
“He took a bit of a knock in training,” interim manager Michael Carrick said in postgame. “It is nothing serious.”
Man United vs Tottenham Hotspur FYIs
Kickoff: Sat. Feb 7, 12:30, Old Trafford, Manchester, UK
Team News: Tottenham Hotspur Man United
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PL Form, Position: Tottenham DLLDD, 29 pts, 14th Man United DDWWW, 41 pts, 4th
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“Obviously, disappointing he is not with us today, but he will be back with us very, very soon.”
Elsewhere the timeline with Matthijs de Ligt, and his lower back problem, has been extended yet again.
The goal posts just keep on getting moved back on his return, so clearly, they really didn’t actually know how banged up the center back was when they initially assessed him.
“He’s not trained with us yet, so just working through the process really of getting him back as soon as we can,” Carrick said on Friday.
So who knows when De Ligt will actually be back.
And then finally, Patrick Dorgu remains out with his thigh problem. He likely won’t be back until after the March internationals.
Carrick is truly exceeding expectations so far, and who knows, maybe he’ll get to keep the job full time?
If they keep winning like this, it would be impossible to let him go, come June. It’s possible we could see a repeat of the Ole Gunnar Solskjaer scenario.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, RG.org and Ratings.org. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and the Washington Post.