Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: Manchester United, Ruben Amorim, Premier League, Victor Lindelof, Erik Ten Hag
Luke Davies
Topics: Manchester United, Ruben Amorim, Premier League, Victor Lindelof, Erik Ten Hag
Manchester United may be without a defender for Ruben Amorim’s first game in charge.
Amorim, 39, will oversee his first game as head coach of Man United when the Red Devils travel to Ipswich on Sunday 24 November.
The former Sporting manager was officially announced as the new United boss on November 1 but did not start in his role until November 11.
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He was greeted by various members of the United hierarchy when he arrived at the club’s Carrington training facility on Monday.
Some lucky fans even got to meet the Portuguese while taking part in a tour of Old Trafford.
On Friday evening, the club released Amorim’s first official interview since he arrived at the club.
The former Benfica man spoke about several topics such as the trophies and the club's history - including mentioning past United managers Matt Busby and Sir Alex Ferguson.
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However, with United sitting in 13th place in the Premier League, he is under no illusion that a lot of hard work will need to be done to improve the club’s current fortunes, insisting they will need “time” to succeed.
The trip to Portman Road will likely prove difficult, especially given the fact this will be the Tractor Boys’ first league game against United for over two decades.
No doubt, the eyes of the footballing world will be on Amorim’s first game, but his team selection may have already been made more difficult.
United have several players nursing injuries, with Luke Shaw, Harry Maguire, Leny Yoro, Kobbie Mainoo, Amad Diallo and Tyrell Malacia either injured or not match fit according to the Premier League.
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To add to the list, centre-back Victor Lindelof appeared to pick up a knock while on international duty with Sweden.
The 30-year-old limped off on the 26-minute mark during the 2-1 win against Slovakia on November 16. However, the severity of the injury is still unclear.
The Swede started the game as part of a back three – a similar system to what Amorim employed during his successful spell at Sporting Club.
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We will ultimately learn more about Amorim’s preferred personnel in the coming weeks, but his predecessor, Erik ten Hag, tended to favour Matthijs de Ligt and Lisandro Martinez as his centre-back pairing with Maguire and Jonny Evans used as a back-up.