“Players can’t deal any more with this overload.” expressed Erik ten Hag, the Manchester United manager, as he grapples with a growing list of injuries.
The Dutchman made these remarks on the day his defender, Lisandro Martinez, was sidelined until the end of the year, bringing the tally of absent United players to eight.
However, Ten Hag is not alone in facing a substantial injury list just six weeks into the new season. PremierInjuries.com reports that the 20 top-flight English clubs collectively have 112 injured players.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola believes that players should unite to push for a change in the schedule. Other Premier League managers, including Newcastle’s Eddie Howe, Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta, and Chelsea’s Mauricio Pochettino, have also weighed in on the issue. Burnley’s Vincent Kompany even claims to have a potential solution.
Ten Hag explained that he intentionally bolstered his squad during the summer by acquiring seven new players to mitigate injuries, but he still finds his team stretched thin, especially with recent non-injury absences like Jadon Sancho and Antony.
“We had a World Cup in the middle of the season; we had a longer season; we had to play a longer season as well, with FA Cup, then Nations League games. A shorter break,” said Ten Hag.
“Every time the schedule is expanding, the load on the players is too much. It’s such a great overload. Many colleagues of mine have pointed to that and I have pointed to that as well. But it keeps going. We keep expanding the schedule.
“Players can’t deal any more with this overload and that’s what you see in this squad at the moment.”he added.
United commenced their pre-season training on July 6th before traveling abroad like many other teams. They played friendly matches in Norway, Scotland, the United States, and Dublin before their Premier League opener against Wolves on August 14th.
The 2022-23 season was longer than usual to accommodate a six-week break for the World Cup in Qatar, scheduled for November and December. The season started on August 5th and concluded on May 28th. This resulted in the FA Cup final and European finals taking place in early June, with Nations League fixtures ending on June 18th. Premier League clubs resumed pre-season preparations for the 2023-24 season less than a month later.
For City, who reached the Champions League final last season and participated in the Community Shield this summer, this meant there were only 58 days between the end of the last season and the beginning of the new one.
Manchester United performance and stats
Manchester United
Manchester United is currently 10th in the Premier League with 9 points.
In the last 7 games, it has won 3 times and lost 4 times. In its last match, Manchester United lost 0-1 against Crystal Palace.
It has a negative goal difference after scoring 7 goals and conceding 11.
Manchester United will play the next match in Premier League against Brentford on Saturday 7th of October in Manchester.
