Man Utd defender Patrick Dorgu is returning to Manchester to be assessed after picking up an injury with Denmark.
Patrick Dorgu was forced off for Denmark. (Image: Ulrik Pedersen/NurPhoto)
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The sight of Patrick Dorgu clutching his hamstring last weekend should have set alarm bells ringing in Manchester.
Dorgu was forced off with an injury after half an hour into Denmark's game against Wales last weekend, and the issue was serious enough to make him return to Manchester United for assessment.
The 21-year-old suffered a hamstring injury in January which kept him out for three months, and a similar kind of lay-off would be problematic for Michael Carrick, who is aware Luke Shaw cannot play two games per week.
Shaw returned from a three-game absence to feature against Fulham before the international break, but the fixtures come thick and fast when the domestic action returns, so he will need to be rotated accordingly.
Dorgu deputised for Shaw during his absence. If the Dane is facing a spell on the sidelines, Carrick will have to turn to Diogo Dalot, Noussair Mazraoui or Harry Amass to fill in as cover for Shaw, which is not ideal.
To make matters worse, Mazraoui may not be available to act as a backup after coming off with an injury during Morocco's game against Lesotho on Tuesday. The defender went down in the 69th minute, signalling for medical attention, and was subsequently replaced.
Mazraoui's substitution may have simply been a precaution, but it does look like Dorgu could be unavailable for a run of games, which would only add more weight behind arguments that Carrick was let down by the club failing to sign another left-back in the summer transfer window.
Although United wanted to sign a left-back after strengthening their midfield, they ended the window without a new addition, despite knowing that Shaw could not start every game in a 60-match-plus campaign.
Dorgu picked up an injury.
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Lewis Hall was the dream target, but even if Newcastle had been willing to sanction a sale of the England international, they wouldn't have let him leave for the kind of fee that United would have been comfortable with.
An educated estimate of Hall's value was around £70m across the summer, but he has now signed a contract extension at St. James' Park until 2031, so a deal won't be any cheaper next year if United rekindle their interest.
When it became clear that Hall wasn't available, United should have brought in a cheaper left-back, someone who may not have the quality to be first choice but who would be good enough to fill in.
It was predictable that Shaw would pick up an issue - he did just three weeks into the campaign - and the squad would obviously be left short if Dorgu picked up an injury. Everyone could see that a new signing was required.
United kept their powder dry because they did not believe there was a suitable option on the market. Jorge Salinas had a £15million release clause, but United clearly were not convinced by the Racing Santander left-back.
That's when the data department and network of scouts should have presented suitable alternatives. There was surely a left-back out there who could have been signed for a reasonable transfer fee.
United's decision makers gambled that Shaw and Dorgu could stay fit, but the former's injury record is well-documented, and the latter is now facing a spell on the sidelines with a second hamstring injury in nine months.
Jason Wilcox and the remainder of the recruitment team should be sweating after seeing Dorgu pick up an issue. Carrick hasn't helped himself with some mistakes this season, but there's no doubt he was let down in the summer.