Manchester United players lost faith in failing medical team – The Athletic | OneFootball

Manchester United have endured one of their toughest ever seasons when it comes to injuries and this has resulted in them suffering their worst ever Premier League finish of eighth place.

The problems have been most focused in the centre back region as there have been a revolving door of players due the obscene injury list.

The Athletic have taken a deep dive into the problems at the club and it is believed that they started when “in December 2022, Steve McNally stepped down after 16 years as United’s club doctor.”

United were impressed with Gary O’Driscoll and wanted him to start in the summer but due to bowing to former side Arsenal’s demands, he did not join until late September and this irked Erik ten Hag, who felt the club could have pushed harder to get the doctor on board faster.

The manager “believes having a doctor he has total alignment with is vital for player availability and that, had O’Driscoll started in July, it would have also provided fresh energy for the squad.”

United also massively delayed the decision to bring in a head physio, with Jordan Reece from Arsenal beginning a week after the FA Cup final, despite Robin Sandler departing in January.

The delay in appointments of such key medical figures surely did not help as United were forced to play 15 different centre back combinations throughout the season as both Lisandro Martinez and Luke Shaw, arguably the side’s two most influential defenders, were available for only five matches together.

“Some speculated training intensity as one cause for the spike in problems, but Ten Hag argued robust sessions were required to keep players primed for matches and that he tempered the output when necessary. An analysis of the players who sustained muscle injuries showed no overloading, according to those briefed on the results, but there were mistakes.”

Defenders often had to fill in when not ready. Luke Shaw has already spoken about being played too early against Luton Town, after participating in only one session, which led to greater injury.

Moreover, Jonny Evans took to the pitch against Crystal Palace at about 50% fitness due to there being no other available centre backs and neither Lisandro Martinez nor Raphael Varane were match fit for the FA Cup final but played due to the magnitude of the match.

Another reason given is the reaction to playing the most games in Europe in the 2022-23 season, as the club went deep into every competition they were in.

“Data showed the actual number of injuries was in line with those recorded each season over the past decade, but the days missed hit a high in that period (2,185) — triple the figure from 2021-22 (716),” the report continues. “United had the most players absent for games in the Premier League, so the focus fell on the rehabilitation plans — whether they were correct by design, or players lacked faith in their reliability.”

“O’Driscoll and other club staff investigated the issues for several months to try to avert the crisis and while bad luck played a part, some players were sceptical about the care provided at United.”

There were numerous incidents of players getting second opinions and choosing to have their treatment away from the club.

Tyrell Malacia underwent surgery and had treatment in the Netherlands with his own choice of surgeon. “Lisandro Martinez completed his rehabilitation from damaged knee ligaments in Argentina during an international camp. Martinez was said to be very upset a recurrence of his fractured metatarsal was not picked up earlier at the start of the campaign after three scans.”

Casemiro also had his problems as “he also questioned why he suffered muscle injuries this season given he had never experienced such problems before. His only previous muscle injury lasted six days, but Casemiro was out for more than two months with a hamstring issue in the autumn and he came close to sustaining a rupture in March before the FA Cup tie with Liverpool despite tailoring his training as per instructions.”

INEOS have much work to do to get the club back on track but until they can once again foster trust between the players and the medical team, it will be difficult to make much progress at all on the pitch.

Want to be the first to hear breaking Man United news? For carefully selected, crucial updates, join our WhatsApp channel: https://bit.ly/United-Breaking-News.