Erik ten Hag provides injury update after Antony stretchered off against Fenerbahce

  • Antony was substituted due to injury when Man Utd faced Istanbul
  • Winger had only just been brought on as a replacement for Marcus Rashford
  • Erik ten Hag spoke about the problem and why Amad Diallo wasn't used sooner
Antony ended up being stretchered off in Istanbul
Antony ended up being stretchered off in Istanbul / YAGIZ GURTUG/GettyImages
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Erik ten Hag has confirmed that Manchester United won't know the full extent of the injury suffered by Antony against Fenerbahce on Thursday for "24 hours".

Antony replaced Marcus Rashford for the final stages in Istanbul, with the score-line tied at 1-1 and United looking for a winner. But the Brazilian ended up being stretchered off himself only 16 minutes later following extensive treatment on the pitch.

The winger initially went down on the far side of the pitch and was attended to by United medical staff. He came back on but quickly signalled over to the bench that something wasn't right and proceeded to lie on the turf while a stretcher was readied.

"It's really unlucky for him. I feel real compassion for him, when he worked so hard in training," Ten Hag told MUTV after the game.

"His training performances are that good that he deserved to come on. When you have to come off so quickly, that is really sad to see. Hopefully, it's not too bad, we have to wait 24 hours for what the assessment is."


Antony
Antony wasn't on the pitch for long at all / Burak Kara/GettyImages

It wasn't clear exactly what the problem was in the moment, with it initially appearing that Antony may have pulled or tweaked something in his leg. But he was later seen leaving the stadium on crutches with his left foot in a protective boot.

Antony has appeared only infrequently this season after slipping out of favour. He started and scored in the 7-0 rout of Barnsley in the Carabao Cup but has otherwise been a substitute.

Amad Diallo was the player who replaced him for stoppage time against Fenerbahce, although some fans had issue with why the Ivorian wasn't Ten Hag's first choice to replace Rashford, or indeed to start the game given that Noussair Mazraoui lined up as a 'number 10'.

"For Amad, he is doing well but we have to reward the performances of Antony in training. He is a threat almost every training so I felt in that moment to bring him, to decide the game," the United manager went on to explain when quizzed on selection decisions in the post-match press conference.

"But Amad you saw he had one or two actions, very pleased with all the effort and most of the players the quality. I think away from home in Europe in a hectic ambience, to start with four attackers is too much. So I know Nous is very capable to play in that position."


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