Manchester United’s rotten luck with injuries this season was perhaps best summed up when their own Superman, Bruno Fernandes, missed a club match through injury for the first time in his professional career on Monday night.
The Portuguese superstar is a warrior and is always eager to fight through the pain barrier - notable when he had to grit his teeth to get through an FA Cup tie at Nottingham Forest earlier this season after being kicked around days prior in a defeat against Fulham, or when he bandaged up his hand during the FA Cup semi-final against Coventry City.
His absence for the 4-0 demolition at Selhurst Park made it 63 separate cases of injury and illness to have hampered United this season, something boss Erik ten Hag continues to struggle to truly comprehend.
‘For over 10 years I am managing, I never had this experience,’ the Dutchman said recently.
‘So huge, so many injury issues, so I trust all my experience, it can happen once in 10 years. Hopefully now I have to wait another 10 to have so many injuries to deal with.’
Twenty-five senior squad members have suffered at least one injury this season, missing a combined total of more than 1,200 days. Only Andre Onana, Diogo Dalot and Alejandro Garnacho have avoided a game-preventing injury.
Also, of his 110 matches in charge, it can be argued that Ten Hag has only been able to name his best XI twice: against Wolves on the opening day and West Ham in February. Fans have been left dumbfounded while it’s led to more than one raised eyebrow behind the scenes at United.
There has been a strong feeling among some sources that spoke to Mail Sport that the intensity of Ten Hag’s training, particularly for players returning from lengthy lay-offs, has played a factor in re-aggravation. The number of high-intensity sessions has also irked some.
Ten Hag has dismissed those claims when pressed on them, insisting he needs robust players to win at the top level.
‘No, we don't train too hard. We need to be fit,’ he told Sky recently.
‘The standards in this league, you need to be fit, otherwise you can't match the standards that are required in a game. We don't train too hard.’
He added: ‘You need very robust players - that is the requirement.
‘When we were around Christmas with a lot of injuries and then you have to bring them back, but in the moment they are free from injury they are not going to be match fit. They are not straight back into the form, that also needs a couple of games before you get back in the rhythm.
‘I think we have more players who are very robust, as Bruno [Fernandes] is, but that is the type of player you need.’
The truth is, if United had 18 Fernandes’ in their squad the ‘crisis’ would be far less pronounced than it is. Expect ‘robustness’, both physically and mentally, to be high on INEOS’ wishlist for new recruits.
United have already taken what they believe to be necessary steps forward with their facilities to close the gap on rivals and limit the scope for the type of injury crisis being experienced now.
A hyperbaric chamber - which can significantly speed up recovery times for injury - was added just a few months ago, pairing with the cryotherapy chambers already in place.
Even prior to Ten Hag’s arrival in 2022, United undertook an upgrade overhaul of wet recovery areas such as pools, ice baths and saunas.
And yet what Sir Dave Brailsford and the INEOS team quickly discovered is that a great deal more work needs to be done to elevate United and bring them closer to rivals who boast true state-of-the-art facilities. The job at Carrington feels like it is only just getting started.
Mail Sport exclusively revealed multi-million pound plans to overhaul Carrington as a training facility in a bid to alleviate crises to this scale in future.
A new ‘pre-activation and player performance’ zone is at the centre of the redevelopment, with club sources hoping that the new warm-up area will help lower the risks of players picking up costly knocks.
Pre-activation can include the use of resistance bands and foam rollers with its primary aim to increase blood flow to muscles through activities such as skipping and jogging.
Players will also take part in dynamic mobility exercises, such as lunges, which open up areas such as the knees and hips to aid rotation and carry out a series of stretching routines. A specialised space may well play a key role on a daily basis.
A lot of the scrutiny around the sheer volume of injuries suffered by United this season is landing at the door of Gary O’Driscoll, United’s head of sports medicine. His arrival from Arsenal, where he spent 14 years and became a key confidante to boss Mikel Arteta, represented a major coup and he has been tasked with elevating United’s sports science department.
O’Driscoll, a lifelong United fan, helped to lead an internal review at the back end of 2023 into department flaws and where strides could - and must - be made.
The Irishman joined from Arsenal with a reputation as being one of the most progressive doctors in the Premier League.
He has extensive experience of top-level sport having worked with the British Lions, Ireland Rugby, Saracens and British Cycling and Mail Sport understands he is incredibly popular in the dressing room already.
Ten Hag’s squad are said to have a great deal of respect for O’Driscoll given his body of work and the suggestion internally is that many of the cases of injury have been rotten luck, rather than a systemic failure behind the scenes.
In fact, one source put it down to the accumulation of games post Covid finally catching up with United, pointing out only Barcelona could compete with the 62 games United were put through last season.
Robin Sadler, United’s long-standing head physiotherapist, left in January as part of a shake-up and more key moves are expected to follow as O’Driscoll, who is leaning on figures such as physio Richard Merron and club doctor Jim Moxon, continues what has been described as crucial rebuilding work to get United back to par.
Mail Sport previously reported how O’Driscoll has been pushing for the employment of younger practitioners who can implement newer methods and a forward-thinking approach to sports medicine.
The move comes amid concern behind the scenes that United's rivals are significantly more advanced in terms of sports medicine, putting the Old Trafford club at a disadvantage in terms on-the-pitch performance.
Ten Hag has been as guarded with the findings of the internal review as he is whenever he is quizzed on the nature of a player’s injury.
‘We have an idea and we will work on it,’ he said. ‘Internally, we will deal with it.’
Whether the Dutchman is around to see the fruits of a season’s study and analysis remains to be seen - but if he is, United are hoping they can take a giant stride to becoming the best in class.