Erik ten Hag walks on pitch to console Man Utd defender Will Fish after suffering nasty injury vs. Liverpool

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag walked on the pitch to console academy product Will Fish after he suffered a serious injury during Saturday's pre-season clash against Liverpool.

Ten Hag's men closed out their pre-season tour of the United States with defeat as goals from Fabio Carvalho, Curtis Jones and Kostas Tsimikas sealed a 3-0 win for the Reds.

Having created a decent amount of opportunities throughout the contest, the coaching staff at United will be encouraged by spells of play at the Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina.

But injuries have once again blighted another pre-season outing.

Following the news that Leny Yoro and Rasmus Hojlund would be sidelined for lengthy periods, a number of defenders were brought off on Saturday after sustaining knocks.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Victor Lindelof and Jonny Evans all started the game but were withdrawn at various stages.

And after both Lindelof and Evans departed at half-time, one of their replacements Will Fish was carried off on a stretcher after coming off worse in a challenge with Liverpool youngster Harvey Blair.

The 21-year-old, who spent last season on loan at Scottish Premiership side Hibernian, looked devastated as he lay on the ground.

In fact, such was the seriousness of the injury, a concerned Ten Hag made his way over to Fish before the defender was replaced by another academy product, Maxi Oyedele.

Speaking to MUTV after the full-time whistle, Ten Hag said: "Always, we have to see what has gone on. The assessment, of course, with Will Fish is it’s an impact injury.

"We also had to sub Jonny Evans at half-time because he was ill. Victor Lindelof [was] a precaution. So, yeah, there are some injuries, but we have to see how bad it will be.”

Will Fish seems to have suffered a bad one. Not what you want to see. pic.twitter.com/2gxt9rR378

— Stretford Paddock (@StretfordPaddck) August 4, 2024

Fish, who recently featured in United's 3-2 win over Real Betis, was looking forward to coming up against their great rivals Liverpool.

"You know, you're at one of the best clubs in the world," he told MUTV. "And to be out here in America, it's a surreal experience. So you take each day as it comes and just do your best. That's all you can do.

"People who know me, that's how I take life [in my stride]. I don't really get too high or too low, and I think that helps in football at times.

"Sometimes, you obviously need to be more up for it and, you know, times like that, I can be. But I try not to think about it too much and just take each day as it comes."