Manchester United will be without their most in-form player for the next few games. Rasmus Höjlund is out – Erik ten Hag has to rebuild his attacking trio
In the battle for a place in the Champions League, Manchester United suffered a serious setback on Friday without even having played. According to the club, Rasmus Höjlund suffered an unspecified muscle injury and will be out for two to three weeks.
“It’s not a serious injury,” reported coach Erik ten Hag at his press conference ahead of the home game against FC Fulham on Saturday afternoon – but it is still painful news. Höjlund, who had to wait until Boxing Day for his first Premier League goal, has scored in every league game since then. In the recent 4-1 win at Luton Town, he scored an early brace to extend the run to six games and set a new age record: Nobody has ever been as young as Höjlund (21 years, 14 days) when reaching this mark.
The Danish international striker will now miss not only the Fulham game and the FA Cup round of 16 tie at Nottingham Forest next Wednesday, but also the league derby at Manchester City on March 3. If he is out for three weeks, he might not even be available again until after the international break on March 30th
Shaw even has to fear for the European Championship
For the time being, the head coach will have to rebuild his attacking line, which had recently found its feet. Höjlund had recently played as a center forward, flanked by Alejandro Garnacho (right) and Marcus Rashford (left). The latter could now be back in demand in the center of the attack for the time being as part of the plan to further reduce the five-point gap to fourth place.
It was only at the start of the week that ten Hag received the news that Luke Shaw – also due to a muscle injury – would be out for months. The left-back even has to fear for his participation in the European Championship in the summer. Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Mason Mount, Anthony Martial, Lisandro Martinez and Tyrell Malacia have already been missing for some time
