Silvestre Injury Opens The Door
A metatarsal break here. A cruciate ligament tear there. With grim certainty, United’s injury jinx bites ever deeper into the playing staff, leaving the first team seriously exposed so early in the season.
Mikael Silvestre has joined fellow knee victims Ben Foster, Ji Sung Park, Darren Fletcher and John O’Shea on the sidelines for nine months, after a ligament injury suffered against Everton last Saturday.
Earlier this month, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer called time on his career after a vain battle with injury. Gary Neville has struggled for six months with an ankle knock. Owen Hargreaves cannot shake off tendinitis whilst Wayne Rooney has only just recovered from a foot break suffered on the opening day of the season.
As the season moves into its second month, United must wonder just how many more savage blows are in store. Although maligned in these pages as lacking United class, Silvestre offered the manager experienced cover at centre back and at left back. He was exactly th kind of player the manager would call upon when rotation was needed to give the regulars a break.
The manager will no longer have that option. Worse, he lacks specialist leftback cover with the departure of Gabriel Heinze to Real Mdrid. As highlighted in these pages two months ago, left back was always likely to be United’s ‘achilles heel’ position this year. Despite Anderson’s assertion that he can play the role, Patrice Evra has the position all to himself. But as warned, Evra’s every tackle and movement might soon have to be be studied with hands clasping rosary beads and a Bible. If the French defender were to suffer injury, United would be all at sea.
The Mirror newspaper today claims the manager will offer more games to Danny Simpson, who can play on both flanks and to Gerard Pique and Jonny Evans, both normally centre backs but desperate for a run in the side.
The newspaper also reckons the manager may seek to strengthen the squad’s defences in January. That seems unlikely given the public backing Sir Alex has offered to his young players whom he expects to be the “backbone of the side” for years to come.
Seven months ago, AbsolutelyUNITED described Silvestre as United’s Mr Lucky. We reasoned that United’s likely summer sales and maouevres left him in a strong position to survive at the club. The Frenchman did indeed extend his stay at Old Trafford when tipped widely for a transfer. If good fortune really does favour Silvestre, he will need all of that luck now.
READ: A Lost Bale, Wigan’s Baines And United’s ‘Achilles Heel’
READ: Mr Lucky
