Latest team news vs Burnley: Zlatan, Rojo and Herrera
- Old Trafford Whisperer
- Apr 22, 2017
- 3 min read
Jose Mourinho provided an update of our injury situation as we visit Burnley tomorrow.
It's worrying times for us even after we made it to the Europa League semi finals in impressive fashion. The extra-time win came at a cost as Marcos Rojo suffered a bad knee injury in the first half and had to be stretchered off.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic was the next casualty, as he also suffered what now appears a season-ending injury, having damaged his knee ligaments after landing awkwardly in the dying minutes of the game.
The boss however remains optimistic United can cope, with Wayne Rooney having returned into the squad and Anthony Martial desperate to impress.
“He has a good mentality, he’s a fighter, he’s a strong man and, even if he’s not in the best condition or not at the level of sharpness that you need to play high-level football, he has the experience and the character.” he said of Rooney.
He even revealed two players that were rested against Anderlecht in the shape of Ander Herrera and Ashley Young will start at Turf Moor.
We could also now call on the services of Reserve's captain Axel Tuanzebe in defence, to offer cover to Eric Bailly who has played 6 matches in a row and the returning Daley Blind in central defence.
Meanwhile the full extent of Rojo and Zlatan's injuries will be confirmed when they undergo tests at the club's medical facilities.
Marcos Rojo sustained a knee injury in the Europa League
“Eric Bailly has played six matches in a row – 540 minutes in a row,” Mourinho told reporters after Thursday’s game. “We lost Marcos Rojo, we don’t have Jones, we don’t have Smalling.
“We are in trouble and, now, we lose Zlatan too but, in attack, we have options: Rooney is coming and let’s see if Mata can also return before the end of the season. Let’s see what happens.
“Herrera plays [against Burnley]. He didn’t play on Thursday – one yellow card and he would have missed the semi-finals. I was thinking about him and [fellow substitute Marouane] Fellaini both at the same time but, because I made a change with Marcos Rojo, I couldn’t do that and he didn’t play.
“So Herrera is fresh to play. Ashley Young is fresh to play and who else? Nobody else is fresh to play! Now we need absolutely everyone and I don’t have to think about Axel Tuanzebe going to the Under-20 World Cup in Korea because maybe Axel has to come now. We need everybody.”
Jose had this to say about Thursday's match-winner Marcus Rashford concerning a call up to the England U-21 squad for the European Championships in June.
“I don’t want to go in that direction,” the manager replied. “I just feel that, when a player reaches a certain level, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to drop levels. It’s like me putting him in our Under-23s to win, let’s say, a derby against Man City. No? Nicky Butt could play him in that game because of his age.
“So when you reach a certain level and you’ve reached it for a long time, I don’t think it makes sense. But the power is in their hands.”
The teenager scored his 10th goal of the season in what was his 44th appearance and he remains our first choice striker now that Zlatan's season is over.
Juan Mata who is targeting a return in May remains on the sidelines as Phil Jones and Chris Smalling also remain out.
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