What’s the story?
Manchester United might be without six first team players ahead of their home game against West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League. Paul Pogba, Wayne Rooney, Phil Jones, Chris Smalling, and Marouane Fellaini are all doubts for the game due to injury with Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Ander Herrera are both suspended for the game.
In case you didn’t know..
Paul Pogba picked up a hamstring strain during the Europa League game against Rostov, and missed the following Premier League fixture against Middlesbrough. He even had to withdraw from France’s international fixtures.
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Phil Jones, Chris Smalling, and Marouane Fellaini were injured during the international break. Jones’ injury is rumored to be a long-term one, but the extent of Smalling and Fellaini’s injuries are still unknown.
Ander Herrera and Zlatan Ibrahimovic will both be serving their last game under suspension.
The heart of the matter
The injuries and the suspensions leave Jose Mourinho with a selection headache. Manchester United, despite being in four competitions for the majority of the season had managed their injuries very well this season.
But, this represents a huge problem, especially in midfield. Michael Carrick is the only fit midfielder available to Jose Mourinho with Bastian Schweinsteiger leaving for the MLS during the international break.
What’s Next?
Manchester United might have to go with a makeshift formation against a West Brom side high on confidence, with a number of in-form players. Daley Blind might be asked to fill in beside Michael Carrick, or youngster Timothy Fosu-Mensah might be drafted in for the game.
Alternatively, Henrikh Mkhitaryan might be asked to drop deep. Whatever the permutation it doesn’t look very pretty for a side looking to gain up ground on the top 4.
Author’s Take
This was coming for Manchester United for a while. The likes of Ander Herrera and Paul Pogba were played into the ground, so injuries were expected sooner or later. It is quite surprising that Bastian Schweinsteiger was allowed to leave at this juncture of the season (despite the playing time he got at Old Trafford this season).
With games coming thick and fast in the run-in, Jose Mourinho would hope he could have as many warm bodies back in Carrington, as soon as possible
