Brave Victor shows United need to invest in a new centre-back
NO matter your thoughts on Victor Lindelof’s ability, no one can deny he has given his absolute all for United this season as he has soldiered on through a debilitating injury.
The Swede has been plagued by a back issue for well over a year now but has continued to be a near everpresent in the United back-line alongside Harry Maguire, starting all but two matches in the Premier League and Champions League before he was forced to sit out last night’s clash with Wolves.
Despite often looking in clear discomfort, he had continued to battle on, putting his body on the line and still managing to put in some good performances in the process.
There have been a few occasions in which he has been a doubt for a game in the run-up, yet come matchday he is nearly always in the starting XI.
Even for the 6-2 victory against Leeds, he had suffered a blow to the knee in a game just three days earlier.
His resolve and resilience epitomises what it means to play for United and, just last week, he vowed to continue to put the needs of the team over his own health.
“It’s been tough,” Lindelof said. “I’ve been struggling a lot with my back over the past couple of months, so it’s very important for me to do the treatment and recovery right.
“And then against Sheffield, I got a bad knock on my knee so I was 50-50 for this game, but I managed to go out there and play even though I had pain.
“I just want to help the team. I’ve been struggling a little bit but I managed to play through the pain.”
Yet it finally all caught up with him on Boxing Day, after filling in admirably at right-back, he was substituted after 66 minutes with clear anguish across his face, clutching the small of his back and needing to take a moment of rest between every few steps on his way to the tunnel. It was quite difficult to watch.
However, in further testament to Lindelof’s iron will, he was keen to
start against Wolves last night. There’s a lot to be said for having a settled centre-back partnership, but United’s reliance on Lindelof is becoming unsustainable as ideally he would now be given a significant period of time to rest and recover fully.
That doesn’t seem likely and it can only be a matter of time when the injury worsens and he is finally ruled out for even longer.
Eric Bailly and Axel Tuanzebe have played well when called upon over the Christmas period but both also have had their injury woes and it makes sense that the manager may not want to come to rely on them either.
So with three of his four senior centre-back options being potential injury risks, it’s clear that recruiting a new centre-back in the January transfer window should be the club’s top priority. Having another body available would lessen the load significantly on Lindelof - as well as Maguire, who has played more minutes in 2019/20 than any other top-level footballer in the world.