Manchester United`s defensive lineup faces a significant challenge as Diogo Dalot has reportedly suffered a calf injury, raising concerns that he could miss the rest of the current season.
The versatile full-back is confirmed to be unavailable for the Premier League fixture against Bournemouth this Sunday. Furthermore, his participation in both legs of the crucial Europa League semi-final tie against Athletic Bilbao is now in serious doubt, with the first leg scheduled for Thursday in Spain.
In a season already heavily impacted by injuries for the Old Trafford side, Dalot had been a rare figure of fitness consistency.
The 26-year-old Portuguese international has started more matches than any other United player, featuring in an impressive 51 out of the team`s 52 games across all competitions this season, in addition to seven appearances for his national squad.
United manager Ruben Amorim expressed concern that the demanding workload may have contributed to his compatriot`s current injury setback.
Amorim commented: “Diogo is out. We don’t know how long he’s going to be out but he’s out for these next games.”
When asked if the injury could sideline Dalot for the campaign`s conclusion, the manager added: “There is that possibility but I don’t know. We’ll check week by week because he works really hard and he recovers quite well but we’ll see.”
He elaborated on the nature of the injury and the club`s efforts to manage the player`s fitness: “He has a problem with his muscle in his calf. He had a sequence of games, he played all the time. We tried to manage it but some of the players have to play a lot of minutes and we have to protect the ones that we think are not so ready to cope with that, but Dalot felt something.”
Offering some more optimistic news on the injury front, Amad Diallo, who has netted nine times this season, may be available for the Bilbao clash after recovering from damaged ankle ligaments sooner than initially anticipated.
Diallo had been absent since February 7, and there were initial fears that his season might be over.
Centre-back Matthijs De Ligt is also nearing a return to full fitness. Amorim confirmed their progress, stating: “Amad is near and so is Matha [De Ligt].”
However, young defender Ayden Heaven`s return date is further off after he sustained a knee injury during last month`s 3-0 victory over Leicester.
Marcus Bellamy