Manchester United’s preparations for the new season suffered what may prove to be a setback as both Leny Yoro and Rasmus Hojlund limped out in the first half of their friendly defeat to Arsenal in Los Angeles on Saturday night.
Hojlund had started brightly in what proved to be a 2-1 loss at SoFi Stadium, darting on to a pass from Marcus Rashford, holding off Ayden Heaven and rolling an effort through the legs of goalkeeper Karl Hein. However, five minutes after driving United into an early lead, the Danish international was forced to limp out with what appeared to be a hamstring issue.
Yoro, signed from Lille for $76.2 million earlier this month, managed just 35 minutes before he was forced to exit proceedings with what also had the look of a muscle problem. The 18-year-old required lengthy treatment when he went down off the ball but was able to work off of his own accord, albeit visibly limping.
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag told MUTV, “We have to wait 24 hours and then we will hopefully know more. We were very careful, especially with Leny. It is disappointing he had to come off but let’s be positive and see what comes out.”
Arsenal would go on to emerge victorious in their third pre-season game, goals from Gabriel Jesus and second-half substitute Gabriel Martinelli earning victory for Mikel Arteta’s side.
Rather than the scoreline, Ten Hag will be more focused on the injury status of two players who promise to play a key role for his team next season. Hojlund looked likely to start the season as the first-choice center forward ahead of new signing Joshua Zirkzee while Yoro would have been confident of his chances in featuring alongside Lisandro Martinez.
Injuries proved to have a deleterious impact on United last season, the 45 separate injuries suffered by their players were the most of any Premier League team last season. The likes of Martinez, Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia missed most — or in the latter case all — of the campaign with Ten Hag comparing the experience to “swimming with your hands tied behind your back.”
With less than a fortnight until United’s season proper begins against Manchester City in the Community Shield, Ten Hag will be hoping that Yoro and Hojlund’s issues do not set the scene for a repeat of last term’s troubles.
KVSP