Manchester United boss Louis Van Gaal has revealed that midfielder Michael Carrick will miss the rest of the season due to a calf injury that he suffered a few games ago.
Carrick’s injury blow will sour Manchester United recent signing of Memphis Depay as the 33-year old was a key player in United resurgence in the second half of the season after a substandard first half of the season. Manchester United have suffered of late as they have lost their last three games and Carrick’s presence in those games might have had a say on the final result.
Ahead of his side’s clash against Crystal Palace, Van Gaal said, “Carrick is not available, it was more heavy than we thought.
“We tried everything but now we have to think about next season. He shall not play anymore this season, it’s better now to focus for him on next season and being fit to start.
“When you see the stats, it’s clear that he’s very important but that’s also because we have only right-sided holding midfielder.
“That’s what I am saying already in the whole of the season, that our selection is not balanced, and I want to restore that in the next transfer period. The life is not ending at 34, but for a professional football player, it’s close by. That’s why I have to handle again in that position.”
Saturday’s game could be a close one considering how poor both Crystal Palace and Manchester United have been of late. Although Palace have had nothing to play for after sealing their Premier League status for one more season, Manchester United still have Liverpool in pursuit for the final Champions League spot. Another loss for United and a win for Liverpool would make matters very interesting going into the last two games.
Selhurst Park has often been the place for a lot of upsets in recent times, but Palace have never beaten Manchester United at home in the Premier League era. Alan Pardew will want to pick up a win and add the scalp of Manchester United to his CV at Palace after beating their cross-town rivals Manchester City a few months back. Both sides will have to improve upon their last three games where they haven’t scored even once and have ended up as the losing side.
PSG were close to signing Depay, says Van Gaal
Van Gaal also revealed that he did not want to lose out on Memphis Depay as he was being linked strongly with a move to PSG. United’s quick acting has undoubtedly handed them a star player as Depay has already shown what he can do with PSV. Van Gaal revealed, “I was forced to handle [the situation] as a manager because, otherwise, he was going to PSG, that’s why I had to sign him and we’ve done it within one day. But, for us, it’s better to focus on the game against Palace.”