Erik ten Hag confirms two Man United men played through injury during derby

Image Via: Flickr/Paul. Used under Creative Commons .

Erik ten Hag has stated that a pair of Man United players were not at 100% fitness for the derby on Sunday.

Manchester United Football Club lost at the hands of Manchester City yesterday, falling to a late defeat after fighting so valiantly. There’s a real gulf in class between the two sides at the moment, with the Reds now eleven points adrift in the top-four race. It’s looking tough.

After the game, Erik ten Hag cut a disappointed figure. His lads put in the effort. Sadly, the quality just wasn’t there. It was partly down to injuries with several key faces missing, including Rasmus Hojlund, Lisandro Martinez and Luke Shaw.

However, the Dutch manager also admitted that two United players who started the game played through injury; Jonny Evans and Marcus Rashford.

It was Rashy who set United on their way with that thunderstrike, while Evans was a starting centre-back alongside Raphael Varane. Both were subbed off in the second half.

Here’s what the gaffer had to say in full:

“We had two players on the pitch which were not 100 per cent [fit]. Jonny Evans and Marcus Rashford.” Ten Hag said live on Sky Sports, per talkSPORT.

“But they gave everything like the whole team and we are disappointed with the score.”

As a keen onlooker, Rashford didn’t look fit at all. He was limping around the field from about the fifteen-minute mark onwards, while United’s medical team were often pictured on the sidelines waiting to come on and give attention to the Englishman.

This isn’t me excusing what was a pretty average performance outside of his wonderful goal, by the way. I think he was genuinely struggling out there. He’d ordinarily complete 90 minutes when fully fit The fact that he was subbed off in a derby is telling.

As for Evans, you can only tip your cap. He did a very good job on Erling Haaland and the rest of that fluid City front line while he was out on the field. I didn’t realise he was injured at all, which is a testament to his overall performance.

United play in the early kick-off against Everton next weekend. Let’s hope the pair are fit enough to play some part in that match as we’re going to need them…

Do you think Man United can still finish inside the top four? Let us know your thoughts in the comment box below.

About Jordan Street 19808 Articles
Mancunian. Red through and through. Season Ticket holder block E332.

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