Plum skin Witch he wasn’t happy with the struggle he saw Alejandro Garnacho He suffered a “serious” ankle injury, forcing the teenager to recover quickly. Manchester United check out the season with more silverware.
The 18-year-old squirmed in pain following Sunday’s 0-0 draw by Southampton fullback Kyle Walker-Peters, but played for seven minutes after receiving treatment.
Ten Hag initially downplayed his concerns about the seriousness of the problem, although Garnacho was seen leaving Old Trafford on crutches with his right foot in a protective boot.
The young player said on Tuesday that he “would not be able to help my team and my teammates in the upcoming matches” due to the damage to his ankle ligaments that kept him from his Argentina post this month.
Garnacho has missed United’s last two games before the international break, but Ten Hag hopes he still has a big role to play as they try to add the Europa League and FA Cup to their Carabao Cup victories.
“I can’t say exactly (what the time scale is) right now, but it will take weeks, so it’s a serious injury,” Ten Hag said.
“I didn’t expect (this) but a foul followed by another serious injury. Christian Eriksen (After a challenge by Andy Carroll of Reading). We have a serious injury after contact.
“Of course it’s tough. He’s progressing very well and was picked by the national team.
He should be ready to come back soon.
Plum skin Witch
“It was a big moment for him and he’s developing really well and you don’t want to disrupt that process.
Now we have to get away from him but he will be back at the end of the season.
“So what he has to do now is deal with it, deal with failure, and then work, invest to come back before the season is over because we can get a lot at the end of the season. So he needs to be ready to come back as soon as possible.”
The Ten Witches were angered by “inconsistent” refereeing on Sunday, when Casemiro’s second red card in five weeks combined several dismissed criminal appeals against Southampton.
Garnacho’s injury particularly bothered the United boss, who lost key midfielder Eriksen to a bad fight from Reading striker Carroll in January’s FA Cup fourth-round draw.
“We have wounds and we have red cards,” he said, laughing hopelessly. What’s the combination, huh?
“We had some discussions (with the referee bodies), yes, but it’s not about the referee. It’s about us.
“We have to put our performance on the line and focus on that.”
United, like all clubs, appears to have an ongoing dialogue with the Premier League or Professional Game Match Officials Board, but Ten Hag said nothing has happened since the Southampton match.
“No, I’m just commenting on some decisions,” he said. “He was clear about Casemiro, it was handball, it was a penalty situation with (Marcus) Rashford, it was probably a penalty situation with Bruno (Fernandes).
“It was Garnacho’s foul and bad injury, so there were some decisions you could discuss.
“But now it’s gone. Now I’m looking forward to the next game and tomorrow and focusing on that.”
Defeating Real Betis 4-1 at Old Trafford last week, United secured their advance to the Europa League quarter-finals.
Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes would miss the first leg of this draw if they receive a yellow card in Spain, but the duo will play in Spain despite walking a tightrope.
“They’re going to play both because he’s such a good opponent,” Ten Hag said on the eve of Antony’s last 16-second match, which he missed due to illness.
“Last week we had a good result, but we need to go again, then you need your best players because we need a result, a win. Then we need our best team.”
Meanwhile, United have confirmed that they will be heading to the United States for their pre-season tour this summer.
The Red Devils have not been there since 2018 and the schedule will be announced in the coming weeks.