Eight Manchester United players are currently injured.

(Baonghean.vn) - Eric Baillyand Luke Shaw was injured in the match againstSwansea in the 35th round of the Premier League. At this point, the Red Devils no longer have a single true center-back at their disposal as the season enters its crucial stage.

Before the match, manager Jose Mourinho had lost six players to injury: Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Paul Pogba, Chris Smalling, Phil Jones, Marcos Rojo, and Timothy Fosu-Mensah. Fortunately, midfielder Juan Mata had just recovered from injury, and the Spanish player was included in Manchester United's squad for the match.

The injury list includes Chris Smalling, Phil Jones, Marcos Rojo, and Timothy Fosu-Mensah, all of whom are regular center-backs for Manchester United.

Luke Shaw is the seventh Manchester United player to suffer an injury. Photo: Internet.

With recent injuries to Bailly and Luke Shaw, Manchester United now only have two fit defenders: Daley Blind and Darmian. Both players had to play as centre-backs in the recent match against Swansea.

The wingers were Valencia and Young, both of whom started as midfielders. This was rather unusual, because in this match the Swansea players didn't play with excessive aggression or roughness.

Just nine minutes into the match, Luke Shaw was substituted for Antonio Valencia. With about 15 minutes remaining, Eric Bailly suffered an injury after a collision with Llorente in the middle of the pitch.

Mourinho might be right: “People can’t judge a game based solely on this one match. The Swansea game was our ninth game this April. Our players are very tired.” The demanding schedule makes players very susceptible to injury. Mourinho joked: “With this kind of schedule, a player could break a leg just to go to the toilet.”

Besides the race for a Top 4 finish in the Premier League, Man United also have two semi-final matches against Celta Vigo in the Europa League. Perhaps Mourinho's use of Daley Blind and Darmian as central defenders is just a temporary solution; in the Europa League, Carrick will likely partner Blind, a position the midfielder has been deployed in on several occasions.

In this match, Mourinho also has a young center-back, McTominay, but he hasn't started a game yet, so his chances of playing are low. In this context, MU will probably prioritize "attacking to defend" as Martial, Lingard, Herrera, and Rashford are all in good form.

AT