UK Edition
Anthony Martial injury concern fuels Jose Mourinho grievance over fixture demands
Anthony Martial’s hugely encouraging performance against CSKA Moscow in the Champions League has come at a cost after he limped off with a thigh injury.
Mourinho has not ruled Martial out at this stage, but given the rapid turnaround before the visit of Crystal Palace to Old Trafford on Saturday, his involvement seems unlikely.
United’s manager could not resist airing his frustrations about the fixture list, despite his team’s brilliant European performance, warning the team would face a far “fresher opponent” at the weekend as a result of the draining demands put on his own.
The lack of help given to English teams in Europe by their domestic schedule has been a long-term cause of irritation to the Portuguese and he feels teams who travel such long distances in European competitions, particularly on a Wednesday night, should not be made to play on a Saturday afternoon. The potential loss of Martial will not help his mood.
Martial was at the centre of so much of United’s thrilling attacking play against CSKA and appears to have rediscovered his best form after a difficult first season under Jose Mourinho.
"I think the game adapted to his qualities, the way we play adapted to his qualities too,” Mourinho said. “He had a lot of freedom and lots of support and lots of quality around him too. His contribution was good, but he couldn’t play 90 minutes.”
There were suggestions the forward would look to leave in the summer after his first-team appearances were restricted last term, with tension between Mourinho and his agent fuelling reports that he was no longer happy at Old Trafford.
Mourinho was scathing in his response to the attempts to force a move - or his hand in team selection - insisting the player had to listen to him to improve as a player, not his agent.
The conflict briefly seemed to knock Martial’s confidence, however, although he has not started as many games as he would like this season, he has made it increasingly hard for Mourinho to leave him out.
The 21-year old has impressed in both United’s League Cup win over Burton Albion and, more significantly, terrorising CSKA’s ageing backline on Wednesday night. He scored from the penalty spot, but could have a hat-trick and provided two assists for Romelu Lukaku and Henrik Mkhitaryan.
But the France international was in some pain when he signalled to the bench that he needed to come off late in the second-half and United will hope it is not a serious problem. Martial will be assessed by the club’s medical staff this afternoon.