MATTHIJS DE LIGT RACES AGAINST TIME TO RETURN BEFORE PREMIER LEAGUE FINALE
Matthijs de Ligt battles a stubborn back injury as Michael Carrick admits uncertainty over his Manchester United return.
Matthijs de Ligt wants to finally get back on the pitch before the season ends. He’s 26 now, and he’s been out since November with a stubborn back problem. At first, doctors thought he’d miss just a week, but it’s dragged on for months and really messed up his year.
Even Michael Carrick has admitted he isn’t sure if De Ligt will play again before the Premier League season wraps up on May 24. Still, De Ligt’s hoping for a return before then. He’s desperate to get fit and catch the eye of the Netherlands squad selectors ahead of the World Cup. Making the national team won’t be easy, though the competition is fierce. Virgil van Dijk, Micky van de Ven, Nathan Ake, Stefan de Vrij, Jan Paul van Hecke, Jurrien Timber, and Jorrel Hato have all been called up for upcoming friendlies under Ronald Koeman.
And even at Manchester United, De Ligt can’t just waltz back into the starting lineup. Harry Maguire’s enjoying quite a comeback, and Leny Yoro keeps getting better after stepping in for the injured Lisandro Martinez.
United’s next match is at home against Leeds on Monday, April 13, but Maguire’s out; he’s suspended after that red card in last Friday’s 2-2 draw with Bournemouth. Carrick’s hoping Martinez will be healthy enough to step in, but 19-year-old Ayden Heaven could also get a shot.
De Ligt hasn’t played a minute since Carrick took over as interim manager in January, following Ruben Amorim’s departure. Before the injury, De Ligt was a mainstay, starting all 13 of United’s league games.
Reporters caught up with Carrick last week and asked how De Ligt’s recovery was going, since he’d been spotted back at Carrington. Carrick just said, “It’s difficult to say, just because it’s taken that much time. With backs, sometimes you think it’s fine, and then suddenly it’s not. We’re being patient and working through it. We’ll give him time and try to get him back as quickly as we can, but it’s really difficult to say.”
As for possible surgery, Carrick wasn’t giving much away. “I don’t want to get into that at this stage. We’ll try anything we can to help, and we’re working through it now. I’m not hiding anything. He’s getting better, just not as fast as we’d all like.”
FA UPHOLDS HARRY MAGUIRE MISCONDUCT CHARGE; DEFENDER OFFICIALLY BANNED FOR CHELSEA TRIP
Man United hit with a major blow! Maguire misconduct ban confirmed as Chelsea eye a crucial Premier League win.
Harry Maguire is staring down a one-match ban and a fine after the Football Association upheld a misconduct charge against him. The Manchester United defender will miss the trip to Chelsea, which only makes an already messy situation worse for Michael Carrick at the back.
Things aren’t looking great for United’s defence right now. According to The Athletic, Maguire won’t play against Chelsea this weekend. He’s still in trouble for how he went after the fourth official in that Bournemouth match, where he got sent off. It’s extra frustrating because Maguire just served another suspension during United’s 2-1 loss to Leeds after getting dismissed in that wild 2-2 draw with Bournemouth. Carrick’s relied on Maguire a lot since taking over; 10 of his 14 league starts have come under the new manager, so this is a rough blow.
The FA made their stance clear after Maguire allegedly swore at fourth official Matt Donohue following his red card for a foul on Evanilson. The league is strict about how players treat officials, and this outburst crossed the line. In their words: “It is alleged that the defender acted improperly and used abusive or insulting words and behaviour towards the fourth official following his dismissal.”
And Maguire’s not the only headache for Carrick. Lisandro Martinez is also likely out, probably facing a three-match ban after pulling Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s hair and getting sent off against Leeds. United’s appealing it, but PGMO chief Howard Webb hasn’t left much doubt: hair-pulling counts as violent conduct, full stop. Clubs get that reminder every season, and pulling someone’s hair with force? The refs won’t hesitate to show red.
So now Carrick’s options are threadbare. With both senior centre-backs banned, he’s got little choice but to start Leny Yoro and Ayden Heaven, a pair of teenagers at Stamford Bridge. United is hanging onto third in the league for now, but Chelsea could close the gap to just four points if they win. No experienced backups, the pressure of Stamford Bridge, and the season’s most crucial spell ahead, these young defenders are about to get thrown straight into the deep end.
BRUNO FERNANDES BACKS MICHAEL CARRICK FOR PERMANENT MANCHESTER UNITED MANAGER ROLE
Bruno Fernandes reveals how Michael Carrick saved Man Utd with tactical shifts and the return of Kobbie Mainoo.
Bruno Fernandes credits Michael Carrick’s turnaround at Manchester United to some key changes: starting different players, shifting positions, switching up the formation, and, maybe most importantly, finally finding the back of the net.
Things were rough under Ruben Amorim, who lost his job in January after just 14 months at Old Trafford. Honestly, United hadn’t seen a season that bad in over five decades. Amorim’s reign ended with a loss to Tottenham in the Europa League final, and, in the Premier League, he racked up the worst win rate (32%), the most goals conceded per game (1.53), and the fewest clean sheets (15%) of any manager in the club’s history.
Once Amorim was out, Carrick took over as head coach until the season’s end. Now, after guiding United up to third in the league, he’s the clear favourite to get the job full-time.
One of Carrick’s first moves was bringing Kobbie Mainoo back into the starting eleven. He also didn’t hesitate to change the team’s formation, both of which Fernandes sees as major reasons for the recent success.
“We’ve changed a lot,” Fernandes told Men in Blazers. “He changed some players, switched around some positions, tried a new formation, and, at the end of the day, we started scoring goals.
“We were always creating chances and racking up opportunities, even under Ruben. But we just weren’t finishing them. Defensively, we actually kept teams out of our box pretty well, but then we’d still concede goals.
“With Carrick, we tightened up at the back, got more compact. There’ve been games where we’ve just had to grind it out because we weren’t in great form, but that sacrifice made a difference. Honestly, getting two tough games right off the bat helped beat City, and then Arsenal at the Emirates really set the tone. After that, you start to feel, okay, we’re playing good football now, maybe things will change. The City game was probably our best performance, but against Arsenal, we just found a way to get the win.
“Big clubs have to find ways to get results even if it’s not always pretty.”
Fernandes also gave Carrick the highest praise by saying he’s the ex-United player he’d most want as a teammate. “I wouldn’t pick Rooney, because then I'd end up on the bench,” he joked.
“It might sound odd, but I’d go with Michael Carrick. I trained with him when he was here under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Sometimes he’d join us as a six, playing those balls between the lines; he was brilliant.
“As a number ten, you want those quick passes, and Carrick had amazing timing. It’s not just about holding on to the ball; it’s about moving it fast and finding your teammate. He was perfect at that, and having someone behind you like that just makes your job so much easier.”
_1775158482.webp)
