Mason Mount is the latest Manchester United player to join the injury list and Erik ten Hag has responded by blasting the Premier League fixture schedule for putting players at risk of knocks.
The manager believes players have reached breaking point which doesn’t bode well for the festive fixtures, with Mount being the latest player to join United’s injury list.
Mount won’t be available for United’s trip to Everton after being ruled out for approximately a month.
There will be some relief when it comes to the treatment room this weekend as Luke Shaw returns to the matchday squad. That wasn’t the only boost this week as Lisandro Martinez was spotted watching the first-team training at Carrington.
With Casemiro and Christian Eriksen out injured, Mount’s latest knock just adds to the problems Ten Hag has in midfield.
Ten Hag believes the authorities are pushing the players too hard due to the heavy load of fixtures they are being asked to carry out each season – for both club and country.
“Last year we played the most games across Europe [and] last year was [a] weird year with a World Cup in the middle of the season,” Ten Hag told reporters, as quoted by the Manchester Evening News.
“Every manager is complaining about the schedule and yesterday I heard Thomas Tuchel’s statements. But each year they keep adding games to the schedule. Next year they add two more games and we’ve already achieved the limits and across those limits and across the limits that players can handle.
“In the first 12 Premier League games the physical standards are even higher in comparison to last year. You have choices to make. Either you match it by training and preparation or you drop off. That is a decision that every club has to make, every team has to make and an individual has to make.”
Ten Hag’s coaching has been subject to criticism because United have picked up lots of muscle injuries on the training ground this season, however, the Dutchman insists there is a balance to be struck at Carrington between not working the players too gard and making sure they are physically prepared for the demands of a Premier League campaign.
Footballers at this level should expect to be worked hard, but it’s about preparing for games as well as injury prevention. That’s the biggest task our coaches face every season.
“You have to do it smart,” the manager added. “Every team knows you have to suffer and sacrifice. If you want to prepare for games then at certain right moments you have to go to certain physical levels if you want to match those standards and those standards are not set by us but set by the opposition.”
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