Manchester United pre-season turns into disaster, despite latest game ending in victory

Manchester United have already suffered a major set back ahead of the start of the upcoming Premier League campaign.

The Red Devils kick off their season with a trip to Wembley for the Community Shield in a repeat of the 2024 FA Cup final, facing off against local rivals Manchester City .

In preparation for the forthcoming campaign, Erik ten Hag's side have undertaken a pre-season tour of America, a decision which now appears to have backfired.

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Manchester United's injury worries

United suffered one of the worst injury crisis in Europe last season, losing players on upwards of 60 different occasions through different issues across the course of campaign.

£60 million man Mason Mount missed the majority of the season, while key players Lisandro Martinez, Luke Shaw and Harry Maguire all missed large percentage of minutes through their respective fitness worries.

The renewed vigour surrounding Old Trafford amid a positive start to life under the Ineos regime has, however, quickly faded following the early return of last season's curse.

Kicking off their pre season with a 2-1 defeat to Arsenal , the Red Devils widely positive performances was quickly marred by two concerning injuries to youngsters Rasmus Hojlund and Leny Yoro.

The duo were forced off due to their respective respective issues, with Yoro later captured wearing a protective boot while walking with crutches.

It has since been revealed by The Athletic that, despite initial speculation of swift returns for the pair, they now stand little to no chance of seeing the opening match day of the Premier League season.

Yoro, who had missed just one game in his senior career due to injury, now looks set for up to three months on the sidelines with a fractured metatarsal, while Hojlund faces six weeks on the sidelines with a hamstring issue.

The Red Devils also look set to miss both Marcus Rashford and Antony for the remainder of their tour after the pair hobbled off in Thursday morning's 3-2 win over Real Betis, although the extent of both injuries has yet been confirmed.

Such issues mirror the worries felt last summer after Kobbie Mainoo's impressive introduction to the senior side in pre season was cut short by an issue which prevented his explosive breakthrough from taking place until the middle of October.

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