No Manchester United defeat is ever complete without an injury to top it all off.
Less insult to injury, and more injury to insult.
While the absences are yet to rack up quite as dramatically as they did last season – it felt for a while that Erik ten Hag could not even hold a press conference without announcing that at least three more players had joined the walking wounded – but Manchester United did still head to Brighton without potential starters in Leny Yoro and Rasmus Hojlund.
And now it appears that Mason Mount may have suffered yet another stroke of bad luck.
His half-time withdrawal at The Amex certainly raised eyebrows. Mount, as he was against Fulham last time out in a performance which caught the eye of one Paul Scholes, was excellent again when pressing high and snapping back possession in the opposition’s third.
Erik ten Hag confirms Manchester United injury blow
The former Chelsea ace is threatening to become something of a Ji-Sung Park figure in this Man United team. The sort of player who goes unnoticed by casual observers but who is greatly appreciated by his team-mates and holds the team together like glue when he is on the pitch.
The problem is, of course, Mount is not usually on the pitch anywhere near enough.
And Ten Hag has now concerned that – after a debut season ruined by fitness issues – Mount absence during second 45 at Brighton and Hove Albion was a decision not made tactically but through necessity.
“He has some problems,” Ten Hag tells TNT Sports (August 24, 2.45pm). “He had an issue so we took him out.”
The Man United boss will be praying that this is not a repeat of 2023/24, when Mount was limited to only 14 Premier League appearances and just five starts.
Especially not after such a promising start to his follow-up campaign. And especially not with Liverpool coming up against Old Trafford next time out, Mount’s tireless work ethic and qualities in small spaces a potentially invaluable weapon in Ten Hag’s arsenal against Arne Slot’s team.
Speaking at the start of August, Ten Hag expressed his hope that Mount could stay away from the treatment table over the coming months.
Instead, those prayers appear to have gone unanswered.
Mason Mount issue emerges ahead of Liverpool clash
“We know he’s a high class player,” Ten Hag told the Manchester Evening News before United went toe-to-toe with bitter rivals Man City in the Community Shield at Wembley.
Another game in which Mount started and impressed.
“Last season, he had a very bad season. A very tough season for him because of all injuries,” the Dutchman added. “Now, we are very pleased he had a good pre-season.
“And I’m sure, from this point on, he will contribute to the team if he stays fit.”
That ‘if’, however, is starting to feel bigger and bigger by the month.
Man United have now won one, lost one and drawn one so far in 2023/24, albeit the latter technically counts as a defeat too after City triumphed on penalty kicks.
After the misfortune of Wembley, Man United had to endure the frustration of an Alejandro Garnacho effort ruled out by the most unlucky off offsides at the Amex and the pain of Joao Pedro’s 95th minute winner.
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