One of Erik ten Hag’s “biggest frustrations” as a manager of Manchester United is that they will be without a recognized left-back for the remainder of the season.
After Ten Hag said his medical team had given him assurances that left-backs Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia would both be healthy and available in January, the Red Devils ended Sergio Reguilon’s Tottenham loan period. The England international sustained a muscular injury five games into his comeback, however, and will now miss the remainder of the season even though the former has returned. Ten Hag made a suggestion that, had he realized he would not have had enough defenders, United would have kept Reguilon, given that Malacia was also out.
What Ten Hag said
“I had talks, internally, with the medical and performance [staff] in December,” he said to reporters. They told me they would both be ready for January, so you will have two full-backs remaining. You have a third as well, so I would always have to let one full-back [Reguilon] down. We are discussing one of the most annoying things. It’s understandable that a player would not be available for one position, but it’s really upsetting when two players miss out on games during the season. As a team, we’ve managed to catch up as best we can, but it’s unavoidably a disadvantage. It’s really difficult.
Despite having a long list of injuries this season, United has struggled for much of the playoffs. Ten Hag, who has led United to 60 victories in his 60 games as manager, believes the team’s future is bright and that they would have won many more games if their roster had been totally healthy.
Imagine if injuries and setbacks didn’t affect us and we had access to many more players. This team’s promising future is indicated by the fact that they might have easily won 75 games. Its future is promising, as you can see when you compare it to other managers, teams, or former managers at this large club. A squad cannot handle this many injuries. We lost a lot of important players over the season. Despite significant obstacles, we persevere and maintain a strong mindset. We continue to push the team in the correct direction and to fight,” he continued.
What to expect
In Saturday’s early kickoff at Old Trafford, Ten Hag’s United—sitting sixth in the Premier League—will take on relegation-threatened Everton. United suffered early exits from the Carabao Cup and the Champions League.