More bad injury news for Manchester United emerged today from manager Erik ten Hag’s weekly Friday press conference. “Mason Mount has suffered a new injury and he won’t be available,” said Ten Hag, who later added:
“Luke Shaw has also suffered a set-back in his recovery.”
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Shaw, a player who defines the term “oft-injured” is still hoping to come back for the FA Cup Final this season, but that is basically a 50/50 proposition at this point. He suffered an unspecified muscle injury, the details of which the club has kept under wraps, and he’s probably done for the year.
As for Mount, he only missed 18 games, due to injury, for Chelsea across four different seasons. He’s already missed 27 with United this term. Mount has gone from a questionable signing to a total disaster acquisition.
“It’s not that I am not happy with Mason [Mount],” said Ten Hag.
“He is also a very robust player, you see in his profile. In the last four seasons before this, he only had a small issue in the end of his Chelsea career. He’s had very bad luck and he’s a really good player. We’ve really missed him this season.”
As for Martinez, he’s back in full training, but just needs to build up his 90 minutes match fitness level. Sounds like he’s just not there yet.
“[Martinez] is desperate to play,” Ten Hag said.
“He misses so much, the team misses him, he wants to play but he had three injuries across the season and now he is almost there, injury free. Now he has to get back into team training.
“I will never gamble with a player, never. It’s about them, their futures. The safety, health of the player is high level.”
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 Ravens Wire, part of the USA Today SMG’s NFL Wire Network and the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and the Washington Times. You can follow him on Twitter.