Axel out with ankle injury during loan spell at Villa
UNITED defender Axel Tuanzebe is remaining positive despite suffering an ankle injury while out on loan at Aston Villa.
The 20-year-old suffered a twisted ankle during Aston Villa’s 1-0 victory over Cardiff on Tuesday evening.
The academy graduate was substituted in the 26th minute of the promotion clash after going down in a collision which was missed by referee Jeremy Simpson.
However, the youngster seems optimistic of playing again soon despite having his leg heavily strapped up in a protective boot.
Tuanzebe posted a picture of the injury on Instagram and accompanied the image with the caption: “Soon be off it and back on the pitch.”
Speaking ahead of Villa’s last match against Leeds on Friday, manager Steve Bruce confirmed the injury lay-off.
“Axel Tuanzebe twisted his ankle and I don’t think he will make it yet, we need to get him back to fitness,” Bruce said.
“He’s got a twisted ankle and is touch and go for Friday.
“If I was a betting man I can’t see it.”
The setback saw Tuanzebe sit out the victory against Leeds and it remains to be seen if he will feature in any of Villa’s remaining fixtures this season.
Bruce’s side are still to face Ipswich, Derby and Millwall in the Championship but have secured a play-off place at the very minimum going into the last couple of weeks of the season. JOSE Mourinho went for broke. Just like at Selhurst Park, when his side badly needed a goal, he rolled the dice. By the time Marcus Rashford came on against West Brom with a quarter of an hour left, United had six attackers on the field and no recognised left-back.
By then, they were 1-0 down to a side 12 points from safety who were winless in 15 Premier League away games and had scored just 26 goals.
Paul Pogba was not about to lead another comeback as he cooled off on the substitutes’ bench after one of his worst performances yet in a red shirt.
Just eight days after spearheading United’s remarkable recovery in the Manchester derby, the Frenchman was hooked amid fears he could pick up another stupid booking and get sent off.
Quite what was going through his head when he handled Alexis Sanchez’s cross midway through the first-half was anyone’s guess.
Pogba laughed off the booking with a rueful smile but it summed up an odd performance, where both he and United lacked the intensity needed to win a game at this level.
That chance was the first and only time he linked up with Alexis Sanchez - a combination that was at the heart of United’s derby win and nothing came off for Pogba despite playing in his favoured formation.
Indeed, you get the feeling Mourinho was influenced by that derby display when he again used three midfielders in Pogba’s preferred 4-3-3 system despite coming up against the league’s basement boys.
With Ander Herrera and Nemanja Matic holding the fort, Pogba was handed a free role but he could not find a way through a congested midfield area as United got narrower and narrower.
The 25-year-old tried everything. Peeling off to the left wing, slowing things down, the odd dribble and even a couple of strange sliding tackles. Nothing was coming off and a number of fans were getting on his back. “Pass the ball, Pogba!” was roared from the terraces at one stage.
So when Anthony Martial’s number went up on the fourth official’s board, it was hardly a surprise that his compatriot made way before the hour mark. Pogba, who used to cry when his five-a-side team lost a game on the dust courts of Roissy-en-Brie, naturally did not take the news well. The Frenchman walked past Mourinho without making eye contact, ripped off his wrist tape and made his way up the steps to that iconic home dugout where assistant Silvino Louro gave him a consoling pat. Having once staunchly defended him, even when he had an off day, Mourinho was not about to indulge his talisman. “Paul had a yellow card and before that he had a situation not for a second yellow but you never know in football, so I reacted to that,” rainsoaked Mourinho explained post-match. “Paul’s game was complicated like many others, always one more touch.” Pogba’s predicament reflects this United side. Every time they appear to take a step forward, an unexpected setback knocks Jose Mourinho a