Varun Pai
Ralf Rangnick provides Covid-19 update on Manchester United star Victor Lindelof
Speaking to Sky Sports ahead of the game against Newcastle United, as quoted by the Manchester Evening News, Ralf Rangnick revealed that Manchester United ace Victor Lindelof tested positive for Covid-19 on Sunday.
The German boss arrived at Old Trafford a month ago, and things were rosy for the opening three games. Man United had kept a clean sheet against both Crystal Palace and Norwich, and the brand of football was attractive. However, the performance against Newcastle United was anything but that.
Unfortunately, the Red Devils had problems even before the game kicked off. The Covid-19 situation has been dire in the red half of Manchester, with the games against Brentford and Brighton being called off last week. While it may have seemed that everything was fine going into the tie against Newcastle, Rangnick confirmed that Lindelof had tested positive on Sunday.
However, the 63-year-old was also pleased with the return of injury-riddled Raphael Varane. The France international started alongside Maguire against the Toons but did not have a good time as the team had only themselves to blame after an embarrassing 1-1 draw. Speaking before kick-off, Rangnick said:
“Unfortunately, Victor Lindelof tested positive yesterday, so he cannot play. But the good thing is we have Raphael Varane available again and he is back in the starting line-up. Since last Tuesday and even more so since last Thursday, we had three or four training sessions of a high level.”
Massive problem ahead of fixture schedule
One crucial issue Ole Gunnar Solskjaer suffered this season was the fitness of his centre-backs. The Swedish international started the season well but was soon replaced by Varane. The Frenchman formed a great partnership with Harry Maguire before the latter got injured.
By the time the Englishman got back into action, the former Real Madrid ace picked up another knock. There was then a brief period when all three centre-backs were fit. But that did not last long, with the 2018 World Cup winner suffering another issue. Thus, it was good news when he was fielded in the game against Newcastle.
But he looked rusty, as one would expect from a player that has only played 10 games this season. Moreover, the games are going to come thick and fast now. The positive case of the 27-year-old Swede is going to force Rangnick into playing the same centre-back partnership for most matches unless he trusts Eric Bailly to deputize.
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The Ivorian did feature in the UCL tie against BSC Young Boys but it remains to be seen whether he plays more often in the coming weeks. For now, the performances and the subsequent results need to get back on track before we lose ground in the Top 4 race, especially after the poor showing vs the Toons where both Varane and Maguire were sub-par.
