Injury news hasn’t been kind to Man Utd boss Jose Mourinho in recent weeks, and it hasn’t gotten much better this weekend following updates on Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Luke Shaw.
The big Swede is currently continuing his rehabilitation after suffering cruciate knee ligament damage last month which ruled him out for the rest of this season, and possibly until 2018.
With his contract set to expire this summer, there have been fears that Ibrahimovic could have played his last game for the Red Devils, and those fears appear to be on the verge of being confirmed.
As reported by The Sun, the 35-year-old was seen wearing a leg brace and using crutches in Pittsburgh as he makes the first steps towards a recovery. However, time will tell whether or not he returns to action for another club in the future or if this damaging setback could spell the end.
What is relatively clear is that even though he will return to Manchester at some point before the end of the season, it’s suggested that it’s highly unlikely that he will remain at Old Trafford beyond this summer as the injury will force United into a rethink and they will look elsewhere to fill the role up front next season.
Meanwhile, Shaw underwent foot surgery last week and The Sun report that he will miss the start of next season too as his injury nightmares continue.
The former Southampton starlet has been dogged by fitness problems since arriving at Man Utd, and Mourinho hasn’t been shy in publicly questioning him at times either.
However, all concerned will be hugely disappointed with the latest setback as the 21-year-old is expected to miss the club’s pre-season tour this summer which will mean he won’t be fit enough to feature at the start of next year as it will likely take him a few weeks to get up to speed and make himself available for selection.
That’s assuming of course that he’s still at United next season, with transfer speculation linking him with an exit this summer.