Manchester United’s Injury Woes Continue As Star Forward Confirms Tendon Issue

Manchester United forward Edinson Cavani has opened up on the tendon issue that would keep him sidelined for an unknown period of time.

Cavani, who missed Manchester United’s home game against league rivals City on Saturday, has said that he is undergoing treatment for the injury to ensure it doesn’t get worse. The Uruguayan forward has also been left out of his national team’s squad for their World Cup qualifiers against Argentina and Bolivia.

"The issue was like this. Before starting the season, I had discomfort in the tendon. It made me spend a couple of weeks out until I began to gain some minutes [on the pitch] in my team. I had to go back to the national team, always with a bit of pain, but with the hope that it would disappear. It was improving but, after Tottenham, it started coming back," Cavani was quoted by Man Utd’s official website, as saying in an interview with local newspaper El Observador in his homeland.

Uruguay are currently fifth in the 10-team qualifying group in South America. The top four nations qualify directly for the main event of the FIFA World Cup 2020 in Qatar, with the fifth-best side securing a place in the inter-confederation play-offs, scheduled to be held next June.

Ahead of the City game Saturday, the 34-year-old forward scored in the Red Devils’ 3-0 win over Tottenham in the Premier League and had come off the bench in their 2-2 draw with Atalanta in the Champions League.

This is Cavani’s second injury lay-off this season after he had missed four matches in September due to a knock he had suffered. Ever since Cavani moved from Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) to Manchester United on a free transfer in the summer of 2020, his career has been struck by various injuries.

"They are difficult injuries. And I decided to have the treatment so that it does not continue to get worse, and to recover as soon as possible to be fit for my team and the national team," Red Devils’ No. 21 added further in the same interview.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is also without a few key players and now Cavani has joined the list of injured players at Old Trafford. Manchester United were also without defender Raphael Varane in their 2-0 loss to City as the player has been ruled out for a month with a hamstring injury. Luke Shaw, who suffered a blow to the head during the game at Old Trafford, is following concussion protocol and did not link up with the England squad on Monday.

Paul Pogba was withdrawn from France’s national squad earlier this week after he sustained a thigh injury while training.