Last Sunday was one to forget for Manchester United as they suffered a 1-4 defeat in the Premier League at the hands of Newcastle United but that was not the worst part.
In-form Joshua Zirkzee, who has handed a start ahead of Rasmus Hojlund, suffered what looked like a hamstring injury in the second-half and had to be supported off the field.
The timing of the injury could not have been more inauspicious with Ruben Amorim admitting after the game that the former Bologna ace was likely to miss the Europa League quarter-final second leg against Olympique Lyonnais.
“We had to make rotation because we are trying to recover in two days from each game. But trying to win this game also.
Zirkzee injury update “Josh, I think he will be out for some games. So, lets focus on the next one [against Lyon].”
Now BBC Sport have even worse news on that front with the report claiming that the 23-year-old will miss more than a couple of weeks and it looks like he could be out for the season.
“Manchester United forward Joshua Zirkzee will miss several weeks with a hamstring injury that could rule him out for the rest of the season.
“The Netherlands international, 23, limped off in the second half of Sunday’s defeat at Newcastle and has been undergoing tests to determine the extent of the injury.
“Multiple sources have indicated to BBC Sport there is some doubt over whether Zirkzee can feature again this season owing to the severity of the injury.”
He now joins Lisandro Martinez, who is sidelined till next year after undergoing surgery for an ACL injury while United are hopeful Amad can be back before the season’s conclusion.
Out for the season The 20-time English league champions still have six English top-flight matches left while a semi-final and final could also be on the cards should the team prevail on Thursday.
This effectively means Amorim only has Hojlund as his sole striking option and the Dane has been in disastrous form and it is not looking too good for United.
Credit to the Netherlands international for turning around his career at United, from looking like he would be sold early to now being a firm fan favourite.
As for Thursday, the club have planned something special in a bid to build up an electric atmosphere. Hopefully, even without Zirkzee, the players can produce something special.
Feature image Stu Forster via Getty Images
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Ayantan Chowdhury Ayantan has worked for 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites but his heart was always set on writing about his favourite club. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25
