The burly Belgian is struggling with an old knee injury, it seems!
(Photo: AFP)
Manchester United came a cropper against a spirited Tottenham Hotspur side in their Premier League tie on Wednesday night, but Red Devils boss was forced to address the perplexing incident regarding midfielder Marouane Fellaini in the aftermath of the loss at Wembley Stadium.
Trailing 2-0 from the first-half, Mourinho made a double substitution on the hour-mark, bringing on Juan Mata and Fellaini, but his hand was forced into making a final change within seven minutes as the Belgian was hauled off for Ander Herrera.
“I think I was unlucky with Fellaini as I wanted to change a little bit the dynamic of the team,” the Portuguese tactician told BT Sport.
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Fellaini, who’s out of contract in the summer, has been struggling with a knee issue all season and Mourinho hinted that the same injury flared up.
“After a couple of minutes, he was injured. It’s always the same thing. It is the lateral ligament. I don’t think it’s a big, big thing but he was immediately feeling something and telling us he couldn’t carry on,” Mourinho added.
A Christian Eriksen strike with barely 10 seconds on the clock and a Phil Jones own goal just before the half-hour mark consigned United to their fourth league loss of the season.
Despite boasting an expensively-assembled forward line of Jesse Lingard, Anthony Martial, Alexis Sanchez and Romelu Lukaku, the visitors struggled to threaten Hugo Lloris’ goal as the North Londoners dealt their title hopes a massive blow.
United are now 15 points adrift of league leaders Manchester City and with the likes of Liverpool (third), Chelsea (fourth) and Tottenham (fifth) all close behind, the Red Devils must focus on ensuring they qualify for the UEFA Champions League next season by finishing in the top-four.
Fellaini is unlikely to feature in United’s next game now, a Premier League clash at home with Huddersfield Town, as the reoccurrence of his injury is expected to keep him out of action for a few weeks at least.
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