Manchester United are dealing with a heavy injury crisis which has left the team in a weak position all season long.
Every Erik ten Hag press conference has been laced with the caveat that he does not have and has not had his first-choice team available.
It is a well-trodden yet valid excuse, and one the manager feels obliged to make, in the wake of heavy speculation over his job.
There have been concerns raised over how quickly Manchester United’s players are working to get back from injury.
Club legend Wayne Rooney told Sky Sports he felt the players were not pushing themselves to return to first team action.
Ben Foster on Manchester United injuries
Wayne Rooney’s former Manchester United teammate Ben Foster does not disagree that some players are not fighting hard enough to return.
Speaking to The United Stand, Foster remarked: “I agree with Wayne Rooney, there are too many players happy to be injured.”
But Foster’s real concern was the fact so many injuries were being picked up in the first place, and he believes many of these can be avoidable.
He explained: “A lot of people see players getting injured and they go ‘oh, he’s so unlucky’
“And having been in football for 20 odd years, I think some of them are very unlucky. Some injuries, for sure. Yeah, they were unavoidable. But the vast majority can be prevented.
“The vast majority can be prevented by doing extra gym work, warm down, cool down prehab rehab, all that kind of stuff, preventative work in the gym to strengthen areas, and around areas so that you don’t get any, or a recurrence of an injury.”
Cristiano Ronaldo put the work in
Foster made reference to one of his and Rooney’s former teammates, Cristiano Ronaldo, who had two spells at Manchester United.
Ronaldo is still scoring at a prolific rate at the age of 39. He rarely misses a game, becoming notorious through his career for putting in extra work at the gym.
The Sun reported in 2022 how Ronaldo was the first at Carrington and among the last to leave, as he sought to put in the extra work.
This was aimed at benefitting his game, but also the basics of simply keeping fit and injury-free.
Foster pointed out: “He invests in himself as his own business and makes sure he has got everything boxed off. So it’s all looked after.
“So he very rarely will pick up an injury, because of that exact fact.”
Foster added: “You’re always gonna get the bone breaks and the massive tears are completely avoidable.
“But the hamstring tweaks and strains they can be avoided, you know, genuinely, so when I see somebody constantly getting injured all the time, sometimes I say, you might have to change something within what you do day to day basis.”
| Injury type | Projected return | |
| Raphael Varane | Muscular injury | Late May |
| Mason Mount | Unknown | Unknown |
| Victor Lindelof | Hamstring injury | Late May |
| Luke Shaw | Thigh injury | Late May |
| Harry Maguire | Muscle injury | Late May |
| Anthony Martial | Groin injury | Late May |
| Tyrell Malacia | Knee injury | Unknown |