Manchester United have suffered many injuries in defence this season and Ruben Amorim may have another to worry about after losing 1-0 against Nottingham Forest.
Ruben Amorim welcomed back two defenders to the squad that travelled to the City Ground. Leny Yoro returned to the line-up, while Harry Maguire came off the bench for the final 10 minutes.
It didn’t take long for the first defensive mishap as Anthony Elanga gave United a brutal reminder of his key attributes when he went on a solo run to open the scoring in the 5th minute.
Elanga picked up the ball from deep inside his own half before carrying it towards goal and placing his shot past Andre Onana.
United did everything but score in response with Alejandro Garnacho hitting the post and Maguire coming close on two occasions.
Forest’s win moves them closer to Champions League qualification, while United remain in the bottom half of the Premier League.
Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images
Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images
Matthijs de Ligt injury concern
United’s defence will be kicking themselves for giving away such a soft goal in the opening minutes against Forest.
The defeat makes it harder for United to lift themselves out of the bottom half of the table.
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Amorim will hope to avoid any further injury setbacks because United need to start winning football matches consistently, so to make matters worse, Matthijs de Ligt was spotted limping as he left the City Ground on Tuesday night.
The Netherlands centre-back played 90 minutes, despite picking up a knock in the second half when he felt awkwardly and appeared to twist his ankle.
Manchester Evening News reporter Steven Railston shared the update on De Ligt via X, before revealing that the experienced defender told him he was “okay”.
United are only starting to welcome back defenders who have been injured, so it would come as a blow if De Ligt missed the Manchester derby on Sunday due to his latest knock.
De Ligt stats vs Nottingham Forest
Few United defenders escaped blame for Forest’s opener, but De Ligt was out of play when Elanga broke forward for his solo goal.
The 25-year-old started in the centre of a back-three alongside Leny Yoro and Noussair Mazraoui.
However, De Ligt had Taiwo Awoniyi under control and dealt with everything sent his way.
De Ligt made 6 clearances and none of the Forest players were successful in their attempts to dribble past him.
The former Ajax, Juventus and Bayern Munich defender has become an important figure in Amorim’s side and he’d be a major loss if missing against Manchester City.