Man Utd stars BLAME Ten Hag for appalling injury pile-up

It’s been claimed that some of Manchester United’s players BLAME manager Erik ten Hag for the club’s injury crisis this season as the demands he places on his squad are excessive.

Key players such as Rasmus Hojlund, Lisandro Martinez and Luke Shaw were again absent as the Red Devils went down 3-1 in their Premier League derby match against Manchester City on Sunday.

Manchester United are counting the cost of injuries throughout a blighted campaign with as many as 47 separate instances of illness or injury leading to players missing matches this term.

READ MORE: Latest Man Utd transfer rumours

Martinez has missed most of the season, as has £60m summer signing Mason Mount, while the likes of Casemiro and Anthony Martial have also endured long spells on the sidelines.

The Manchester Evening News is now reporting that certain players are convinced the team’s heavy workload - following 62 matches in all competitions last season - is taking its toll.

Ten Hag a harsh taskmaster

It’s no secret that under-fire Ten Hag places high demands on his players in training sessions. As far back as pre-season in 2022, injury-hit Luke Shaw revealed that the Dutchman expected the best at all times.

"He's very hands-on and he takes a lot of the sessions,” the left back told the club’s official site. “He’s involved a lot and if he sees people aren’t hitting the standards that he wants in training, he’ll make sure they know. I think that’s good, because he keeps the standards high.”

There followed a high-profile row with Jadon Sancho, when the manager publicly accused his star winger of failing to train properly with the England international eventually banished on loan to Borussia Dortmund.

It was reported in December that the team’s senior leadership group took concerns over the training schedule to Ten Hag, who stood firm in the face of the players’ demands for more time off and advanced notice of days off among other complaints.

Back in February, the players also had a request for an extra day off following a Premier League defeat to Fulham.

Man Utd’s reduced load in 2024

Last week, according to the MEN, the players had Monday and Friday off with an FA Cup match against Nottingham Forest and the derby occurring in the span of four days.

As a result of going out of Europe before Christmas, the Old Trafford side have a relatively quiet schedule compared to their rivals in the division but they still haven’t managed to avoid the injury curse.

Youngsters like Willy Kambwala and Omari Forson were thrown on for the derby in the absence of senior options while untested youth players like Toby Collyer and Habeeb Ogunneye were on the bench.