Manchester United forward Anthony Martial will not play a part in the early kickoff in the Premier League on Saturday when Manchester United take on Leicester City at Old Trafford. Red Devils manager Jose Mourinho confirmed that the France international was ruled out with a calf injury.
Although Martial had suffered a slight concussion in the 3-1 defeat to Watford last weekend, the 20-year-old has recovered in spite of clashing heads with Hornets right-back Daryl Janmaat. While players who suffer concussions are supposed to be taken off, Mourinho was criticised for allowing Martial to play on. The youngster played on but he was still a little sluggish and it led to Watford dispossessing him before scoring their opening goal.
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When he did eventually come off, he was seen holding his head. But it is a calf injury that has ruled him out this weekend.
“Martial is not available,” Mourinho explained. “He is out because of the contusion in the calf and ankle area.
“I think you know when that happened. You guys are confusing concussion with contusion.”
The comments were a stark contrast to his initial assessment of why Martial had come off when he said: “I didn't know why he came off, whether he was injured in his knee, his ankle or his head. I just know, in that moment, he is not in a condition to carry on.”
Martial had earlier tweeted that he felt much better and had said that he was back in training today.
Mourinho refuses to be drawn into Wayne Rooney debate
Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney has been criticised by pundits and United fans alike for his seemingly abject performances in the last few games. The England international has been deployed in midfield even though Mourinho had said before the season that the Three Lions skipper would never play as a midfielder under him.
Calls for him to be benched have become louder as many feel his role has hindered Paul Pogba in midfield and Zlatan Ibrahimovic in attack. But Mourinho refused to comment on his poor performances.
More: Jose Mourinho must drop Wayne Rooney for Manchester United to make title push
“We are a team,” he said. “We are not Wayne Rooney.”
“We all started well, we all won four matches, and we all lost three matches in a week, so that is not Wayne Rooney. To be honest, he did not even play against Feyenoord, so he was directly involved in the last two matches.
United had started the season strong with nine points from three games but consecutive losses to Manchester City and Watford in the Premier League and Feyenoord in the Europa League – all within the span of eight days – has invited the ire of many fans.
“We had a very good start to the season, better than we expected and prepared for,” Mourinho continued. “And we were guilty of raising the expectations of the people and then we lost three matches in a row.”
