Erik ten Hag now faces an anxious wait on the fitness of both Noussair Maraoui and Harry Maguire after the 0-0 draw with Aston Villa.
Manchester United head into the international break winless in their last handful of matches. The Old Trafford side picked up a draw away at Aston Villa, which, all things considered, isn’t the worst result in the world.
However, after a dire run of results, Erik ten Hag is coming under increasing pressure. Let’s be honest, the performances haven’t been great, with Sir Jim Ratcliffe leading an all-star cast of on-lookers at Villa Park yesterday afternoon.
The result was further marred by a couple of first-half injury blows. Both Noussair Mazraoui and Harry Maguire had to be withdrawn at half-time with different issues.
United are now sweating on the fitness of the first-team duo, though the pair have two weeks to get back fit due to the international break.
After the game, Ten Hag did offer an immediate update on the future, though it’s tough to gauge exactly how serious the issues are until the proper tests have been done.
Check out what Ten Hag had to say immediately after the game:
“We have to assess this. I can’t tell you now what the issue is. I know what the issue is but [I cannot say now] how good or bad it is. We have to see assess this tomorrow [Monday] and then we will bring you news.” Ten Hag told club media.
Mazraoui’s problem is a little more unclear. There was no hint of an issue at half-time, though the man from Morocco did not emerge for the second half. We’ll have to wait for official confirmation on this one, though the fact he was able to make it through to the interval is somewhat encouraging.
Maguire’s looked serious. He went down on his own accord and could barely walk off the field. It feels like this could be a lengthy injury issue for a man who displayed a great first half display. Losing him for any prolonged period of time would be a blow for the Old Trafford side.
I guess now we have to remain patient and wait for what the club have to say. There’s very little chance these guys will be jetting off to partake for their countries, though Maguire wasn’t initially picked anyway.
Hopefully, we hear some positive news soon and they’re not out for too long.
Who do you think will fill in at right-back if Mazraoui misses time? Let us know your thoughts in the comment box below.
