Mata ruled out as United start hectic schedule
Midfielder recovering from hernia operation Mourinho admits ‘regret’ over Schweinsteiger
claimed he has ‘no idea’ when midfielder Paul Pogba will return from a hamstring problem and with Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Ander Herrera suspended for the visit of West Bromwich Albion this afternoon, the manager must face a gruelling fixture schedule with an increasingly depleted squad. Luke Shaw has been omitted from the squad to face West Brom but Wayne Rooney is available after a minor knee injury. Mata will face further tests early next week, when the club’s medical staff hope to put a more accurate time-frame on his absence.
A spokesperson for United said: “Juan Mata has had surgery for a groin injury. Further updates on his recovery will follow in due course.”
The news on Mata came as Mourinho challenged his squad to play through injuries, pain and fatigue after warning that defeat at home by West Brom could signal the end of their top-four hopes. The United manager has told his team they face a make-or-break fortnight in the Premier League and that their hopes of playing in next season’s Champions League could rest solely on the Europa League if they drop points against West Brom, Everton or Sunderland before the visit of Chelsea on Apr 16.
United are four points behind Liverpool in fourth, albeit with two games in hand. “Every match now for us is a big match,” said Mourinho. “The Europa League is to play the quarter-final or go home. In the Premier League one more victory we are in the run [for the top four], one defeat maybe you are not in the run anymore.
“The players have to be resilient, they have to be professionals, they have to be team players, they have to understand the team’s needs, they have to go to the limits, they have to play with small injuries, they have to play with pain, play with fatigue because there is no other chance.
“For example, in two weeks we are going to play against Chelsea, before that we play Anderlecht [in the first leg of the Europa League quarter-final] and after we play Anderlecht [in the second leg].
“Chelsea before and after are on holidays. You can name their team, you can say this one, this one, this one, this one and this one. In 15 days’ time maybe the Premier League is not important for us, maybe it is. If we keep winning matches now that match against Chelsea is important for us. If we lose matches now that match is not important and the important matches are only Anderlecht.”
Mourinho has expressed his ‘regret’ at his handling of Bastian Schweinsteiger, who joined Chicago Fire this week, but said he took the decision to initially banish the German after questioning why he routinely fled England for treatment on injuries under Louis van Gaal last season.
“I regret [my treatment of Schweinsteiger] and there is no problem for me to admit it, because I have told him,” Mourinho said. “What I know about Bastian as a player was a season full of injuries, a season where he was not having treatment in the club, it was outside the club and I thought that was not right – the mentality was not right – it was the kind of player I would not like to have in the squad.”