[ad_1]
1
Manchester United endured one of their worst ever injury-plagued seasons and it resulted in their worst ever Premier League finish of eighth.
The problems are mostly centered at center back, as players have been rotated due to an obscene list of injuries.
Athletic have taken a deep dive into the club’s problems, which are believed to have started when “in December 2022, Steve McNally resigned after 16 years as United’s club doctor”.
United were impressed with Gary O’Driscoll and wanted him to start in the summer, but owing to demands from former side Arsenal, he did not join until the end of September and this annoyed Erik ten Hag, who felt the club could have done more try to get a doctor on board faster.
The manager “believes that having a doctor with whom he is fully compliant is vital to the player’s availability and that if O’Driscoll started in July it would also provide fresh energy for the team.”
United have also massively delayed a decision to bring in a head physio, with Arsenal’s Jordan Reece starting the week after the FA Cup final, despite Robin Sandler leaving in January.
The delay in appointing such key medical figures certainly didn’t help as United were forced to play 15 different centre-back combinations throughout the season as both Lisandro Martinez and Luke Shaw, arguably the two most influential defenders, were available for just five matches combined.
“Some have speculated that the intensity of training was one of the reasons for the increase in problems, but Ten Haag claimed that vigorous sessions were needed to get the players ready for matches and that he reduced performance when necessary. Analysis of players with muscle injuries did not show overuse, according to those familiar with the results, but there were errors.”
Defenders often had to fill in when not ready. Luke Shaw has already spoken about playing too soon against Luton Town, after he featured in just one session, leading to a major injury.
Moreover, Jonny Evans came on against Crystal Palace at around 50% fit as there were no other centre-backs available and neither Lisandro Martinez nor Raphael Varane were fit for the FA Cup final but played due to the size of the game.
Another reason is the reaction to playing the most games in Europe in the 2022-23 season, as the club went deep into every competition it entered.
“The data showed that the actual number of injuries was in line with that recorded every season over the past decade, but days missed reached a peak in that period (2,185) – triple the number from 2021-22 (716),” the report continued. . “United had the most players absent for Premier League games, so the focus fell on the rehabilitation plans – whether they were correct by design or whether the players lacked confidence in their reliability.”
“O’Driscoll and other club staff have been investigating the issues for several months to try to avert a crisis and while bad luck has played a part, some players have been skeptical of the care provided by United.”
There have been numerous incidents where players have had second opinions and decided that their treatment does not apply to the club.
Tyrell Malacia underwent surgery and was treated in the Netherlands with a surgeon of his own choice. “Lisandro Martinez has completed rehabilitation from damaged knee ligaments in Argentina during the international camp. Martinez is said to be very upset because the recurrence of his metatarsal fracture was not detected earlier in the campaign after three scans.”
Casemiro also had his own problems as “he also wondered why he had muscle injuries this season considering that he had never had such problems before. His only previous muscle injury lasted six days, but Casemiro was sidelined for more than two months with a hamstring problem in the autumn and came close to firing in March ahead of the FA Cup tie with Liverpool despite adjusting his training as instructed. ”
INEOS has a lot of work to do to get the club back on track, but until they can re-establish trust between the players and the medical team, it will be difficult to make much progress on the pitch.
Want to be the first to hear the latest Man United news? For handpicked, key updates, join our WhatsApp channel: https://bit.ly/United-Breaking-News.
[ad_2]
