Manchester United have reportedly been left furious after their Premier League clash against Chelsea was brought forward to next Thursday.
Ralf Rangnick’s side were originally scheduled to host Thomas Tuchel’s men on May 15. However, the Blues’ progression into the FA Cup Final means the contest had to be re-arranged, as they will take on Liverpool at Wembley on May 14.
In order to combat the fixture congestion, the Premier League has re-scheduled the crucial clash to Thursday April 28 – meaning United will have to travel to Liverpool, Arsenal, and host the Blues over the course of nine days. And the Red Devils will have to face this ominous pile-up of fixtures while managing a mini-injury crisis which has since emerged.
United are understood to have expressed their immense dismay and frustration to the Premier League. Unfortunately, they are resigned to the fact that their concerns will not make any meaningful difference to their current plight.
The Red Devils surged back into top four contention when they only just overcame Norwich City 3-2 at Old Trafford. Cristiano Ronaldo ’s hat-trick dragged them into fifth position, where they are only three points behind fourth placed Tottenham Hotspur.
Unfortunately, they will have to navigate an escalating injury crisis over the course of their next three matches against Liverpool, Arsenal, and Chelsea. Edinson Cavani (calf), Raphael Varane (muscular), Fred (hip flexor), Luke Shaw (ankle), and Scott McTominay (foot) will all miss the Red Devils’ trip to Anfield.
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This injury exodus has become even more magnified by the fact the United did not make any new additions to their squad in the recent January transfer window. Anthony Martial, Amad Diallo, and Donny van de Beek were all allowed to depart on loan to Sevilla, Rangers, and Everton respectively.
"We lost a few players that we should not have lost," Rangnick said when asked about their current squad limitations. "I spoke about that last week, bearing in mind what kind of offensive players we had available against West Ham (in January), which substitutions I could make in the last 15 minutes, three of them are no longer here (Martial, Cavani and Mason Greenwood) or injured or continuously injured.
“We lost a few other players and right now we have a few injury problems with important players who should normally be in the starting XI. It is no excuse or alibi, things that happen.
“This is also an issue that worries me a bit - the number of injuries that we currently have. I compare that with Liverpool, although they are still competing in four competitions, they have no injury problems at all.
"We play only in the Premier League, and we have five or six players injured. This is also an issue that needs to be taken care of in the future. To analyse why is that the case? Why does it happen?
"But again, for us, it is about travelling to Liverpool tomorrow and show our very, very best performance that we can show on the pitch. This is what I expect from everybody involved tomorrow to show that we are good enough and we want to win the game."
