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De Ligt injury to be assessed after Brentford blow
Sunday 04 May 2025 16:50
Manchester United have a new injury concern ahead of Thursday’s UEFA Europa League semi-final second leg against Athletic Club, after Matthijs de Ligt was forced to leave the pitch at Brentford on Sunday afternoon.
The Dutch defender was making his first start in any competition since 2 April but the outing only lasted 35 minutes, after a collision with Bryan Mbeumo left him injured in the build-up to the hosts’ second goal headed in by Kevin Schade.
After being assessed on the pitch, it was clear De Ligt could not continue and he was replaced by fellow centre-back Harry Maguire.
When asked about the severity of the centre-back’s injury after the match, United boss Ruben Amorim told MUTV: “I don’t know, we will check.
“I hope it is [only] a small issue because I am concerned, not only about this game [against Athletic Club, but about the squad for the next year.”
In a separate interview with the BBC, Amorim said: “I hope it’s nothing serious. We took a risk with [Harry] Maguire [having to come on].
“[Luke] Shaw had to go off [at half-time] because we need players for Thursday.”
Brentford were ahead at half-time, having first cancelled out Mason Mount’s 14th-minute opener with an unfortunate own goal credited to Shaw in the 26th minute.
Schade’s header to make it 2-1, which came as Brentford played on with De Ligt on the ground, was timed at 33 minutes.
“If that was Manchester United attacking, we would have done the same,” said David May, the former Reds defender and MUTV pundit, during the break.
“It wasn’t a head injury so Brentford didn’t have to put the ball out of play. United just switched off for the cross [by Christian Norgaard].”
De Ligt had missed United’s previous four Premier League matches, and both legs of the dramatic Europa League quarter-final against Lyon, due to a foot injury.
He returned as a substitute in Thursday’s semi-final first leg in Bilbao, coming on as Maguire’s replacement for the final 25 minutes.
Amad was another of the subs deployed by Ruben Amorim in the latter stages of United’s 3-0 victory, accruing his first six minutes since injuring ankle ligaments in February.
The Ivory Coast winger was given another opportunity to boost his match fitness when he was brought on at Brentford for the start of the second half.
His return is a real positive for the Reds, especially as Amorim feared Amad would miss the rest of the season when his injury was first reported.
Amad scored the final goal of Sunday’s match, taking his tally to nine in all competitions this season, as United reduced the deficit from 4-1 to 4-3.
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Sunday 04 May 2025 16:50
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