Manchester United and England midfielder Michael Carrick has been injured and is predicted to be out for a couple of weeks. The 34 year-old player injured his calf during training with the England team and is now set for another spell on the sidelines. Carrick has withdrawn from the England squad and looks to be a doubt for Manchester United’s fixture against Liverpool later this week as a result of the injury. The news is devastating for both teams who Carrick has contributed to significantly in recent years.
England manager Roy Hodgson spoke on the matter and said: ‘He has a calf injury.
We don’t believe that it is that serious. It was odd because it came out of nowhere, at the start of the warm-up in San Marino. He felt something and as a precaution we’ve not pushed him.’ Carrick has had a preliminary scan on his calf but insists that it is up to Manchester United to further assess the situation in order to see if it is a serious injury or not.
Over the course of last season, Carrick was injured on four separate occasions which included a calf injury, two groin strains and a malleolar injury. The injuries sustained by the veteran midfielder last season led him to miss 20 games and only manage 18 appearances. Carrick is a vital component of the United set up, however manager Louis van Gaal experienced the negative effects of having the midfielder on the sidelines and to help remedy that, he signed Bastian Schweinstegier from Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich.
Thanks to the summer transfer window, the Red Devils have a healthy selection of players that can play in central midfield for situations like this. Daley Blind, Marouane Fellaini, Ander Herrera as well as Schweinsteiger are all able to cover for Carrick in his absence.
Carrick has had a good start to the season and it’s no doubt a disappointment for fans to once again see him injured.
Michael Carrick is on the wrong side of 30 and doesn’t have many years in his career left at this point. Should the injuries continue it’s possible that his impact for United will be severely impacted and leave him unable to contribute to the club in the way that he did in his earlier years with the club.
