Nemanja Matic to miss start of season as Man Utd midfielder undergoes surgery

Manchester United midfielder Nemanja Matic is going to miss the start of the Premier League season after undergoing abdominal surgery.

Matic did not feature in Manchester United’s 4-1 friendly defeat to Liverpool in the International Champions Cup and hasn’t featured in any pre-season games for the Red Devils after arriving late due to World Cup duty..

And United manager Jose Mourinho has confirmed he will miss the start of the Premier League season due to surgery.

“Matic came from the World Cup with an injury and the time he had to rest on holiday was not enough to resolve the problem,” he said (via BBC Sport).

“He went to Philadelphia for a top specialist and he didn’t leave the clinic. He immediately had surgery.”

The 43-time Serbian international is now back in Manchester receiving treatment, his loss will be a massive blow to Jose Mourinho’s plans for the new Premier League season.

Matic is the vital shield that protects Manchester United’s defence and, last season, he made more interceptions (64), more tackles (42) and more recoveries (317) than any other United player- his 3,119 minutes played was also the most out of any of United’s outfield players.

And the midfielder also plays a big part in starting off United attacks – his 2,281 successful passes dwarfs any other Manchester United player, Paul Pogba’s 1,468 is the next closest.

Mourinho’s injury woes

Jose Mourinho will certainly be worried about the health of his squad going into the new Premier League season.

Matic is the latest injury blow but he joins an ever-growing list of names that could leave United short of options come the first match in just under two weeks’ time.

Defenders Luke Shaw and Chris Smalling both missed the defeat to Liverpool and Mourinho has hinted that they may not be fit in time when they kick off the Premier League season against Leicester on August 10.

Eric Bailly played the game against Liverpool on Sunday while carrying an injury and Antonio Valencia also left United’s pre-season tour early with a torn calf – he looks set to miss the first month of the campaign.

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