NEW MAGUIRE INJURY ADDS TO UNITED’S DIFFICULTIES

ERIK ten Hag says he has never dealt with an injury list like the one engulfing Manchester United, with Harry Maguire the latest to be laid low.

A positive first season in charge has been followed by a second to forget, with the side out of Europe before Christmas and already unable to qualify for the Champions League next term.

FA Cup glory against neighbours Manchester City could yet see a difficult campaign end on a high, but availability over the final few weeks could hamper those chances. United have been beset by injuries this term, with Maguire, above, becoming the 62nd case of injury or illness this season after sustaining a muscle complaint in training.

“For over 10 years I am managing, I never had this experience,” Ten Hag said speaking before the defender’s setback. “So huge, so many injury issues, so I trust all my experience, it can happen once in 10 years. “Hopefully now I have to wait another 10 to have so many injuries to deal with.” Maguire’s injury is expected to rule him out for the rest of the Premier League season.

The 31-year-old has a chance of making the FA Cup final and should be fine for England at Euro 2024, but this latest issue is a blow for a side that continues to deal with defensive issues. Maguire joins fellow centre-backs Raphael Varane, Lisandro Martinez, Victor Lindelof and Willy Kambwala on the sidelines, meaning Jonny Evans may have to start on his return from injury issues of his own. Such problems have destabilised United this season and highlighted to Ten Hag that United need to build a bigger squad with players capable of dealing with the stresses of playing for the club. The Dutchman said: “That is one of the issues, to construct a squad where we have more depth.”