Galatasaray boss confirms injury blow ahead of Manchester United showdown

Add as preferred source on Google

Manchester United received positive injury news ahead of facing Galatasaray. The Turkish side did not.

Erik ten Hag welcomed a crucial double boost ahead of Manchester United’s match in Turkey with Galatasaray.

Both Antony and Rasmus Hojlund were named in the travelling squad after missing the weekend win over Everton through injury.

But opponents Galatasaray are dealing with their own injury concerns and now have to deal with a setback.

Galatasaray absence confirmed

Speaking at his pre-game press conference, Galatasaray manager Okan Buruk has confirmed defender Davinson Sanchez will miss the match.

Former Tottenham defender Sanchez suffered an injury in Galatasaray’s win over Alanyaspor at the weekend.

Buruk was asked if Sanchez could take a painkiller injection to play, however, he says this is not possible, ruling him out.

He told club media: “Sanchez does not have the condition to play with injection therapy. We expect him to return to the team in two or three weeks.”

They are also contending with an injury to defender Abdülkerim Bardakcı, while will require last minute tests. The manager explained: “We will try Abdülkerim in training. If it is positive, he will be on the field.“

Galatasaray boss feels they deserve better

Galatasaray enter this game on four points, which is one more than Manchester United’s three. They drew with Copenhagen, then won at Old Trafford, before losing twice against Bayern.

Buruk feels their performances have merited a better return. He explained: “We fell below our goal expectations in the Champions League. If we evaluated the pressured game we played and the positions brought about by our struggle, very different scores could have emerged. 

“We need to continue this. We have this quality. We did this in the last league match [won 4-0]. Our aim is to turn the positions we enter into goals with our player quality. We are entering positions and we will score goals.” 

Galatasaray were on a winning streak when they played United, but the defeats to Bayern may have dented their confidence, despite their strong domestic form, although Buruk is clearly feeling positive.