Bharath Rammr
Manchester United came off worse in the recent meeting with Chelsea on Sunday. The 4-0 loss was just the start of things, as the team suffered in more than one way. There was the humiliation for manager José Mourinho as he returned to Stamford Bridge for only the second time as an opposition manager. Defender Eric Bailly has been one of the best players for the club since his £30 million move from Villarreal in the summer. He suffered what Mourinho described as a ‘bad ligament injury’ while challenging with Eden Hazard.
The latest prognosis is that United have suffered another injury with Marouane Fellaini expected to be a serious doubt for the upcoming clash with Manchester City in the EFL Cup, according to the reports from Mirror. The Portuguese has always preferred physical players who were capable of intimidating the opposition with their presence alone and Fellaini’s selection has caused a lot of split opinion with the doubters pointing out to the stability that when the team has Michael Carrick then why use the Belgian.
Now, Mourinho may be left with little option but to go for Carrick in the forthcoming games, as the injury to Fellaini, whos is rated at €15.9 Million by the CIES Football Observatory, may be quite serious. As of now, the player is yet to undergo tests that will determine the exact nature of the injury. However, the swelling of the knee means that he is certainly ruled out of the game against City. The Red Devils take on City at Old Trafford on Wednesday night in the EFL Cup hoping to recover from the poor form that has plagued the team for the last couple of months.
City are also in a spot of bother after having not won in the last five games of all competitions. Pep Guardiola would want to win the game at all costs in order to avoid a full-blown crisis at Etihad stadium. Both teams are likely to come in with their best teams as a result. However, the lack of Eric Bailly and Fellaini could be a major problem for Mourinho.
Fellaini suffered this injury after a very poor tackle from David Luiz. The Chelsea defender received a yellow card for his high tackle on the Belgian, but many have deemed it as a straight red card challenge. Luiz will not suffer any retrospective ban since he was booked by referee Martin Atkinson. Since coming to United in a £27 million from Everton, Fellaini has struggled to win over fans. After being paired up with Paul Pogba as a defensive midfield partnership earlier on, Fellaini is now playing alongside Ander Herrera with Pogba operating as number 10.
