A difficult pre-season is threatening to lurch into a farce for Manchester United as manager Jose Mourinho heads into their final game in the USA against European champions Real Madrid without as many as 17 senior players.
United head for the humidity and tropical storms of Miami with dark clouds hovering over them and a manager whose mood flicks between exasperated and foreboding.
Mourinho has been on a damage limitation exercise for several days, claiming after a heavy 4-1 defeat to Liverpool in Michigan that they are merely trying to prevent “ugly results” because of how weak the teams he can put out have become.
Already deprived of more than half of his first choice starting XI because of their World Cup commitments, injuries have now decimated his squad and Mourinho is worried as we move towards the start of the serious business of a new domestic campaign.
It is difficult not to feel some sympathy for the Portuguese, who was already concerned about the lack of preparation time, so to lose players like Antonio Valencia and Nemanja Matic to injuries that will sideline them for several weeks has been a disaster.
United look in disarray less than two weeks before the start of the Premier League campaign, with Mourinho also painting a gloomy picture of their recruitment process, a source of tension that will not be easy to resolve given there are only 11 days left in this transfer window and Leicester City are determined not to sell their top transfer target, centre-back Harry Maguire.
Although international players like Paul Pogba, Romelu Lukaku and David De Gea will be available for their first game against Leicester on August 10th, they will not have played a game for three weeks and may well not have trained properly either.
"I just hope the boys on deserved holidays, they take care of themselves a little bit,” Mourinho said after the second-half collapse against Liverpool. “And somebody wants to do what [Marcus] Rashford and [Phil] Jones do, which is to be back a little bit earlier to try and help the team, because, for the beginning of the season we are going to be in trouble."
Mourinho has to be careful. The short term need for players to return to training early has to balance with the need to ensure they are recharged and rested after the World Cup. He cannot put too much pressure on, particularly as he admitted last week that if you rush players back after an intense international tournament, they can suffer burn out later in the season.
Eric Bailly and Ander Herrera are the latest to cause concern, after they played almost the full 90 minutes in both games against AC Milan and Liverpool.
Mourinho has praised their commitment and dedication, revealing Bailly had asked to play on Sunday when Chris Smalling started limping in the warm up because he wanted to protect United’s young players. Neither are likely to start against Madrid, with another friendly to come next week back in Europe against Bayern Munich.
“I don't think he's a leader,” Mourinho said when revealing Bailly’s ankle is badly swollen. “I don't think anything goes to change with that. I think he's a team boy, a great boy, and an honest man, honest to put everything for the team. That is why we still have him and why he is going to stay with us because football teams need people like him and Herrera, these kind of players where the club is more important than anything else.”
For all of the concerns about Mourinho’s state of mind, there are also signs of a siege mentality being built, the sort of environment he has thrived in before. Sources have told Telegraph Sport that he is bullish behind the scenes, keen to fuel perceptions that everyone and everything is conspiring against United.
At least some of United’s youngsters have enjoyed the tour. With so many senior players missing, the likes of Andre Gomes, Tahith Chong, Demetri Mitchell and James Garner have got some precious game time in a first team environment.
It has also benefited versatile defender Timothy Fosu-Mensah, who has returned to Old Trafford from a loan spell with Crystal Palace. The thought of playing Real Madrid excites rather than scares him.
“It has been good,” he said, when asked about the tour. “We've played against quality opponents. We tried to train how we want to play so I think it has been really good for us.
“Last year I was at Crystal Palace. I think I improved there and I've come back a better player. I came back to show that I've improved and to show that I'm a better player now. I'll keep working hard and see what happens.
“I don't know when a decision will be made about my future here. I'm here on the tour and I'm focused on my training sessions and on the games. The next game is Real Madrid and we have to focus on that now.
“It's very nice to play against a good club, against good players. Some of the best in the world. It's good to have that test.”
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football...l-madrid-test/