Things have been going well for Manchester United recently, but Michael Carrick has suffered a painful injury blow during the clash with Brentford
Luke Shaw went off with an injury during Man United’s clash with Brentford
Luke Shaw was forced to limp off during Manchester United’s home victory over Brentford on Monday night. The England international has enjoyed one of his best campaigns when it comes to his fitness and injury record.
While there has been plenty of change this season at Old Trafford, with Ruben Amorim being sacked at the start of the year and Michael Carrick arriving, Shaw has been a constant. For the first time at United, Shaw was on course to appear in every single Premier League match for the Reds.
He had already surpassed his best appearance tally, which came in the 2020-21 campaign when he made 31 Premier League appearances under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. However, Shaw may be about to spend another period of time on the sidelines.
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As the home match against Brentford entered the final 17 minutes, Shaw sunk down into the turf, prompting a member of United’s medical team to run onto the pitch and assess the England international. It’s unclear as to what the injury was, but it will be a worrying sight for Carrick and England manager Thomas Tuchel.
The German would have surely been viewing Shaw as one of his left-backs to take to this summer’s World Cup. It’s too early to ascertain as to whether Shaw may end up being ruled out for the rest of this season, let alone the competition in the USA, Mexico and Canada.
Shaw was able to walk off the pitch unaided as he made way for Leny Yoro, who has recently recovered from an injury himself. At the same time, Carrick also brought off Bryan Mbeumo and introduced Mason Mount into the contest.
Carrick, his United players and the United fans will all have their fingers crossed that Shaw’s injury was precautionary, rather than serious. They are currently lacking left-footed central defenders, with Lisandro Martinez also set to be banned for the home clash against Liverpool this Sunday.
Martinez will serve the last of his three-match ban for the straight red card he earned against Leeds United, when he tugged on the hair of Dominic Calvert-Lewin. Just over 15 minutes after Shaw went off, United saw their 2-0 lead against Brentford be halved to just one.
After Casemiro and Benjamin Sesko gave United the lead on the stroke of half time, Mathias Jensen whipped in an effort from 25-yards to silence Old Trafford. However, the Reds were able to hold onto the lead and go one step closer to cementing their place in the top five.
United are now 11 points clear of sixth placed Brighton and Hove Albion and 12 clear of Bournemouth in 7th. It’s a huge result for Carrick’s side, who have now taken 32 points from 14 games under the former Reds’ midfielder.
Brentford created many chances, particularly in the first half, but they regularly lost their nerve, or their footing, when in front of goal. Igor Thiago, who has been so emphatic for the Bees this season, hesitated with the goal at his mercy with one opportunity and slipped over as he was about to let fire with another.
His sheepishness was punished when Casemiro headed in a close range opener after a clever set piece from the Reds. Benjamin Sesko then rounded off a counter-attack with a calm finish to double the lead. Jensen’s smart goal ensured a tense finish, but it did not stop Carrick’s side from moving onto the brink of qualifying for the Champions League.
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