Angel Di Maria suffered a hamstring injury in Argentina’s Copa America final loss to Chile that will sideline him for some time. The extent of the injury is not known at this time, and a timetable for his return has not been set as of now. The winger could miss both the crucial Champions League playoffs and the opener versus Tottenham Hotspur on August 8th at Old Trafford.
Manchester United could face a tricky Champions League playoff against the likes of CSKA Moscow, Lazio, Monaco or Sporting Lisbon. United will play the first leg of the playoff on Tuesday August 18th or Wednesday August 19th. The second leg will be staged on 25th or 26th with the winner progressing to the Champions League group stages.
United may very well have to take on this challenge without Di Maria, the former Real Madrid star who impressed them enough to spend £59.7 million on him, breaking the all-time British transfer fee record.
Di Maria had an impressive Copa America, which had created a sense of optimism for the upcoming season. Reasons for optimism are definitely welcome, given what a tremendous disappointment Di Maria’s first season in Manchester was. He won’t be traveling with the team for their United States preseason tour.
Even if he hadn’t gotten hurt he wouldn’t be there. Manager Louis van Gaal said before this latest setback that both Angel Di Maria and Marcos Rojo would be given a few weeks off should Argentina advance deep into the Copa America.
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and writes The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with Fox Sports Digital. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes to the Chicago Tribune RedEye edition. He also appears regularly on numerous sports talk radio stations all across the country.
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