Manchester United could be without Kobbie Mainoo for the rest of pre-season after he left out of Thursday’s game against Real Madrid on crutches.
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag will be sweating over midfielder Kobbie Mainoo’s fitness after leaving Thursday’s pre-season friendly against Real Madrid on crutches. The 18-year-old was dismissed early as United suffered a 2-0 loss at NRG Stadium in Houston.
Ten Hag kept his faith in Mainoo after a string of impressive pre-season appearances, starting him in midfield alongside Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes.
But just six minutes into the friendly against Real, Casemiro brought down Rodrygo as the latter charged towards United’s goal and the Brazilian collided with Mainoo on the way down. He turned a dream scenario against one of the best midfielders in the world into a nightmare for the top-flight teenager.
And to make matters worse, Jude Bellingham attacked with United reduced to 10 men while Christian Eriksen waited to come on to give Madrid an early lead.
Joselu added a second finish with a sensational bicycle kick to record Ten Hag’s first defeat of pre-season.
And the concerns deepened after the full-time, when images surfaced on social media of Mainoo leaving the stadium on crutches and wearing a protective boot.
In his post-match press conference, Ten Hag insisted that Mainoo would have more chances this season, however bad the problem is. “I understand the question [what was the injury]. But you can never tell right after a game. We’ll have to wait and see what it is,” Ten Hag told reporters.
“I hope it’s not so bad and there will be opportunities. I wanted to see what level he could play at.” We were happy with his performance against Arsenal.
“I wanted to see if he could repeat that a few days later. From there, we would have conclusions. First we have to wait for the diagnosis and from there we will draw conclusions.
On Monday, United will complete their pre-season tour of the United States against Borussia Dortmund in Las Vegas.
Back-to-back games against Lens at Old Trafford and Athletic Club Bilbao will follow next weekend before the Premier League season begins. Mainoo will be hoping to take part in at least one of these matches as he pushes for a prominent role in Ten Hag’s plans this season.
