More Injury Woes For Manchester United

Manchester United recorded their first consecutive win in this season with a victory against Everton at Old Trafford, however, the celebration will be marred with the injury that saw summer signing Luke Shaw hopping off the field. The teenager who arrived from Southampton this summer has been the subject of heavy criticisms partly based on his performances which clearly hasn’t measured up to the billing of such an expensive player and also because some purists still believe that it was his arrival that prompted versatile full back Patrice Evra to quit the club. The teenager had attracted the attention of United’s erstwhile manager David Moyes who sanctioned his purchase for such an exorbitant price.

With Louis Van Gaal’s arrival at the club, he decided to give every fit Manchester United player a chance to prove their worth. While some still failed to convince the experienced Dutch to retain their services, some players including Ashley Young was able to keep wriggle himself into Van Gaal’s good books with several exciting performances at the clubs tour of the United States. Van Gaal however expressed his dissatisfaction in Shaw’s performances and mapped out a special training session for the teenager. Shaw was said to have sustained injury while in training and was unable to feature in any of United’s first three matches this season.

On the back of the very intensive injury issues affecting United’s performances this season, the Dutchman was very relieved to give Luke his competitive debut, an option that will also allow him to move Marcos Rojo to his more preferred position in the centre-back. Despite the fact that the English teenager has just returned from injury, he strived to put up his best and make the ‘Evra-like’ runs that has become a trademark of the Frenchman Patrice Evra. His performance against West Ham prompted many pundits to point out the fact that Shaw’s problem was not that he wasn’t good enough, but that people are expecting a whole lot more from the teenager as a result of his expensive price tag.

Few seconds to the stroke of half time in United’s game against the Toffees, Shaw’s ball clearance in the United 18 yard box was misjudged.A controversial penalty was awarded which Manchester United’s goal keeper brilliantly parried.Half way into the second half, Shaw could be seen limping off the field and this will further dampen the spirits around Old Trafford. With Jonny Evans and Chris Smalling still out due to injury, Louis Van Gaal will have to rely on the options that either of Jones, Tyler Blacklet and McNair can offer him in partnership with the left footed Marcos Rojo.

Provided United’s attackers continue  bang in goals, the defence inability to keep  clean sheets may be easily overlooked, but in games against the likes of Chelsea, Manchester City and even Arsenal, our striking options may not be able to maintain as much scoring form as will be needed to neutralize the defensive frailties. Manchester United are yet to release any statement concerning Shaw’s injury, so we can only hope that he will be back in the fold soon enough.