This enforced break for football comes at a bad time for Manchester United.
Aside from injured stars Marcus Rashford and Paul Pogba, who could be fit when football resumes, the break comes at a bad time for nearly everybody else.
The big winner among the players who have featured during this unbeaten run is captain Harry Maguire.
2020 gave Maguire a tough start
This year gave Maguire a tough challenge early on. He missed United’s Carabao Cup semi-final first leg against City with a hip injury.
Initially he was forecast to be out for longer, with The Sun claiming he would miss a month of action with a torn hip muscle.
Maguire bounced back from the injury sustained against Wolves to return to action a week later. The Telegraph reported in late January that rather than having cleared, Maguire was simply playing through the pain.
Most recently Maguire rolled his ankle in training and missed the FA Cup win over Derby County. He was back in action within days for the win over City.
He’s more important than ever
Maguire has been fantastic during this recent run as Manchester United rack up clean sheet after clean sheet. He’s looked worth the £80 million the club paid.
But the sheer amount of football he has been playing will have been taking it’s toll.
With recent hip and ankle injuries, Maguire had barely had a rest. Already this season he has made 41 club appearances for Manchester United. Every one of them have been starts.
This enforced break is about reducing the risk for wider society around the world from a global health threat.
In the process it also reduces Harry Maguire’s risk of sustaining an injury as it will let his body heal up and finally have a break.
He is not the only one. Fred is another player who has been a near ever present for United this season, just without the minor injury issues.
When the football eventually resumes, Maguire should be fitter and stronger than ever.
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United could not afford for Maguire to break down
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