Manchester United midfielder Michael Carrick is said to be facing a protracted spell on the sidelines after injuring himself in the dieing moments of England defeat to Spain on Friday evening in Alicante.
Carrick had been much quieter than he usually is for Manchester United during the game and then fell awkwardly in the 90th minute which apparently damaged ankle ligaments.
Although the exact timeline of his absence is yet to be confirmed, The Belfast Telegraph said:
Michael Carrick looks set for another long injury lay-off after suffering suspected ankle ligament damage during England’s 2-0 defeat to Spain.
And the England manager Roy Hodgson only added to Manchester United’s concerns when he said:
“Michael Carrick doesn’t look good,”
“He’s got a severely twisted ankle which normally means ligament damage. We won’t know that of course until he’s had an X-ray or a scan tomorrow, but it doesn’t look good.”
The player hobbled away from the stadium on crutches and with a protective boot on the foot and is expected to leave the England squad and return to Manchester United for further assessment and rehabilitation on Saturday.
It’s a big loss to Manchester United who don’t have great cover in midfield. The summer acquisitions of Morgan Schneiderlin and Bastian Schweinsteiger will be expected to play together from here on in.
But, beyond that, Manchester United can only really call on Marouane Fellaini who is naturally more of a forward player. But he may be called on to do a job in a deeper role if United get any more injuries in the engine room.
