Manchester United assessing Harry Maguire and Noussair Mazraoui injuries as Erik ten Hag problems mount | OneFootball

Red Devils facing more defensive headaches after battling draw against Aston Villa

Manchester United are nervously awaiting further updates on the injuries sustained by Noussair Mazraoui and Harry Maguire against Aston Villa.

Maguire’s issue looked particularly concerning as he had to be slowly helped off the pitch by medical staff after the half-time whistle.

Asked for an update on the pair after the game, under-fire United boss Erik ten Hag said he knew what the issues were but insisted the club would need to await further assessment before determining the exact severity and a potential timeline for their respective returns.

"We have to take them off at half-time,” Ten Hag said in his post-Villa press conference. “Tomorrow we have to see what is the diagnosis on it."

He then said in an interview with MUTV: "We have to assess this. I can’t tell you now what the issue is. I know what the issue is but [I cannot say now] how good or bad it is. We have to see assess this tomorrow [Monday] and then we will bring you news."

Further defensive injury blows are certainly not good news for the under-pressure Ten Hag, who is already without the likes of summer signing Leny Yoro, while Luke Shaw has not played for United since February and fellow left-back Malacia not since the last day of the 2022/2023 season - leading to right-back Diogo Dalot filling in on the left of the backline.

Problems mounting: Erik ten Hag’s defensive options have been further depleted at Manchester United

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Maguire - ruled out for England selection at Euro 2024 due to a calf issue - also missed last weekend’s dismal home defeat by Tottenham with a knock, while in midfield Mason Mount was absent again at Villa but Kobbie Mainoo shrugged off an issue to start and play 85 minutes.

Ten Hag had to make changes to a leaky defence for a crunch clash with Villa and did, with the struggling De Ligt and Martinez replaced by Maguire and 36-year-old Jonny Evans - the latter of whom earned man-of-the-match honours for his impressive display against Unai Emery’s high-flying side.

However, the injuries to Maguire and Mazraoui - who has had some good moments since joining United from Bayern Munich along with De Ligt over the summer - disrupted his best-laid plans, with Lindelof playing the second half as a makeshift right-back with Dalot on the left and De Ligt partnering Evans as Martinez remained on the bench.

United return to action after the international break with a home clash against Brentford in the top-flight on October 19, before travelling to Istanbul to face Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce in the Europa League.

Ten Hag will hope that the stalemate at Villa - played out in front of co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the rest of United’s football hierarchy - was enough to stave off the threat of the sack for now, with an executive committee meeting coming on Tuesday amid more growing links between United and Thomas Tuchel.