Erik ten Hag has compared managing Manchester United this season to “swimming with your hands tied behind your back”.
The United manager was referring to the number of injuries players in his squad have had, highlighting how difficult it has been to progress the squad after they finished fourth last year and are now on course to end the 2023-24 campaign in either seventh or eighth.
In total, Ten Hag has had to contend with more than 60 individual cases of injury or illness.
United’s absences have been a talking point throughout the season, and Ten Hag has made it crystal clear on multiple occasions that he has never experienced such setbacks before, while also noting he has seldom been able to pick his best starting XI.
Gary O’Driscoll joined United from Arsenal last summer to head up the club’s medical department as their head of sports medicine, responsible for overseeing all medical activity across the men’s, women’s and academy teams.
Ben Dinnery of Premier Injuries has compiled the data on Manchester United’s injury-plagued season and, up to and including May 13, it reveals that the Old Trafford side have had more time-loss due to injuries than any other top-flight side.
Dinnery defines a time-loss injury as one that results in a player missing at least one…
