Amad Diallo has suffered an injury that could see him sidelined for the rest of the season, dealing a major blow to Manchester United’s squad.
The 21-year-old forward picked up the injury during training earlier this week, leaving the team without one of their key players for the foreseeable future.
Impact on United’s Squad and Ruben Amorim’s Plans
This injury comes at a time when United is already dealing with multiple setbacks, especially with Diallo’s rise in importance under head coach Ruben Amorim.
Diallo had transformed from a peripheral figure under former manager Erik ten Hag to a central part of Amorim’s setup.
His new five-and-a-half-year contract, reportedly worth around £100,000 per week, reflected this progress.
Diallo’s recent performances, including six goals in the last 14 games, were vital for the team.
He scored crucial late goals against Manchester City and Liverpool, plus a hat-trick in a thrilling win over Southampton.
His absence now leaves United without one of their main attacking threats, and the team is already struggling with a shortage of wide players after both Marcus Rashford and Antony were loaned out in January.
A Series of Injuries Add to the Woes
The injury to Diallo isn’t the only setback United is facing.
The club is also likely to be without midfielders Kobbie Mainoo, Manuel Ugarte, and Toby Collyer for the upcoming match against Tottenham, all of whom sustained injuries in training this week.
Mainoo’s injury is particularly concerning as he is expected to be out for several weeks.
In response, Amorim may have to adjust his lineup for the match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, possibly relying on Christian Eriksen or Casemiro to fill in for the missing midfielders.
Teenager Jack Moorhouse has traveled with the squad to London and could make his first appearance for the senior team.
Long-Term Absences Continue to Pile Up
As if things weren’t challenging enough, Amorim will also have to contend with several long-term absences.
Lisandro Martinez, Luke Shaw, Mason Mount, and Jonny Evans are all still unavailable.
Martinez, in particular, is a huge loss as he is expected to be out for the rest of the season after undergoing surgery to repair a torn ACL in his left knee.
The Argentine defender spent the night in a London hospital following his operation and will now face a lengthy recovery period of around six months.
A Frustrating Week for Ruben Amorim
Speaking about his squad’s difficulties ahead of the weekend’s match, Amorim expressed his frustration, saying, “It was a good week until two days ago, but now we have some problems.
We don’t have players back, and we have one or two new issues.
We are still waiting on some updates.”
With a growing list of injured players and limited options for the upcoming fixtures, the pressure is on Amorim to find a way to keep Manchester United competitive for the remainder of the season.