As club football takes a back seat for the October international break, worries continue for Manchester United who have seen yet more players sidelined amidst their draw to Aston Villa.
The goalless league draw at Villa Park last weekend saw defensive duo Harry Maguire and Noussair Mazraoui substituted at half-time, replaced by Matthijs de Ligt and Victor Lindelof for the second half.
For the Swedish international, this was his first appearance for United this season, and his first league appearance since March, with his availability within the squad providing some encouragement for the side after the recent injury announcements.
It has been confirmed by the club that Harry Maguire, who was not named in Lee Carsley’s England squad this month, picked up a muscle injury that will see him out of action for several weeks.
The no.5, despite handing the armband over to Bruno Fernandes last campaign, continues to be a big part of the squad, having made six starts amongst a total of nine appearances so far this season.
Most notably, he came off the bench against Porto in the Europa League fixture to rescue ten-man Manchester United a point in the Europa League with a stoppage-time header.
Making his seventh Manchester United league start against Villa, Noussair Mazraoui was the second defensive player to make way at half-time and has since withdrawn from the Moroccan international squad, who are due to play two AFCON qualifiers over the international break.
With the extent of his injury yet to be confirmed, this adds to the conversation about player welfare, with a lack of players fit to replace Mazraoui leading to poor squad rotation, which may be partly to blame for his subsequent international absence.
After returning to the starting lineup at Villa Park, it has been announced that Kobbie Mainoo has withdrawn from the England squad, adding to both Lee Carlsey and Erik Ten Hag's injury lists.
He is one of three England players to withdraw, with Ezri Konsa and Morgan Gibbs-White not reporting to St. George’s Park either, and as the only Red named in Carsley’s squad, United are now without international representation for the Three Lions this month.
Returning to the starting lineup after a minor hamstring issue obtained against Spurs, which caused him to miss the midweek fixture against Porto, Mainoo played 85 minutes at Villa Park, with a replacement in the England squad yet to be named for the youngster.
A fourth injury obtained in the goalless fixture at Villa Park was to Alejandro Ganarcho, who has since dropped out of the Argentina squad.
Ganarcho came off of the bench at half-time against Porto and played the full 90 in the league last weekend, but it has been announced that, after carrying a knock to his knee over the two fixtures, he will not be featuring during the international break.
A key player for United, the Argentinian has 4 goals and 3 assists to his name so far this season and, although he will miss the chance to meet up with his national teammates, the decision to withdraw the winger is more likely precautionary than anything serious.
With four injuries coming out of Villa Park, the injury list which also includes Luke Shaw, Mason Mount, Leny Yoro, and Tyrell Malacia is a big concern for Manchester United.
While the extent of some of the recent injuries are yet to be determined, the weight will still be on Ten Hag's mind ahead of their clash against Brentford and a key Europa League meeting with former Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho's Fenerbahce.
This continues to add pressure on manager Erik Ten Hag, whose job has been the focus of a lot of media attention since the start of the campaign.
Going into the international break in 14th place, with a goal difference of -3, having recorded only eight points from seven matches, United have had their worst top-flight start in 35 years; they haven't started this badly at any point in the Premier League era.
This comes after they recorded their worst-ever league finish last season (8th).
With the speculation ever-increasing around Ten Hag’s future, the added pressure regarding his injury list will turn to play a decisive role in results after the international break, which in turn could play a decisive role in his future at the club.
Despite poor league form, Ten Hag has won two trophies in two seasons at Manchester United, as well as a number of others previous to his move to Manchester.
If you look at managers such as Sir Alex Ferguson, who won the FA Cup and the League Cup before securing his first League title, Ten Hag's two domestic trophies since his appointment at the club could keep him in the job for now despite media speculation and growing frustration at all levels of the football club.
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