Krishnan Sreekumar
Edinson Cavani set to miss Manchester United vs Atletico Madrid
According to Manchester Evening News, Manchester United will be without striker Edinson Cavani for their Champions League clash against Atletico Madrid in the first leg of the Round of 16 on Wednesday night.
The Red Devils go into the game on the back of two consecutive league wins, beating Brighton & Hove Albion 2-0 at home and winning a thriller at Elland Road against rivals Leeds United by a scoreline of 4-2.
Cavani missed both league games due to injury, and it is now confirmed that the Uruguay international will miss the Atletico game as well. He has failed to recover in time ahead of the important first leg of the tie, which is in Madrid’s Wanda Metropolitano Stadium.
El Matador has been suffering from a groin injury and stomach problems of late, and the Red Devils look like they will be going ahead with Cristiano Ronaldo and Marcus Rashford as the only senior and experienced strikers in the squad.
Cavani blow
Despite missing the former Paris Saint-Germain man for their UCL clash tomorrow, the club appears to have rediscovered their scoring boots. Bruno Fernandes has scored in both league games prior to this and Fred popped up with a goal himself on the weekend against Leeds.
Interim manager Ralf Rangnick confirmed the forward’s unavailability against Atletico, claiming that the player is experienced enough to make a call on when he’s fully fit again for games.
“He has problems with his groin and as long as he does not feel able to fully sprint, it doesn’t make sense to train him and to force him back into training. He’s got enough experience by himself to know when he’s fully available again.”
It will be deeply disappointing not to have Cavani’s services for the UCL game, with the striker being proficient at leading the line and poaching goals when needed. There are few strikers in the world better than Cavani at making that important run in behind the rearguard, and we can hope that his absence will not impact our chances too much.
Cavani is a fan favourite at United, but his latest injury problems will not please supporters. The 35-year-old has missed a majority of the current season with various niggles and issues and has proven to be unreliable when it comes to team selection.
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Age has not helped the experienced striker, but expectations run high at a club like United, and Cavani needs to match. His contract is up at the end of the season, and at 35, it remains to be seen whether the club will offer him an extension of his current deal at Old Trafford.
All eyes, however, will be on Cristiano Ronaldo tomorrow as the Portuguese superstar looks set to lead the line for the Red Devils against familiar foes in Atletico, who he has come up against many times during his time at Real Madrid and Juventus.
