Diogo Dalot will be lucky to play again for Manchester United this year claims Mark Goldbridge.
Dalot returned back to Carrington early following his World Cup duties with Portugal which saw them reach the quarter-final.
The 23-year-old was left disappointed as he was taken off injured with ten minutes to play in that clash after he’d won his place in the knockout stages as he failed to appear in the opening two group games.
Dalot’s early return is linked to the hamstring injury he sustained with United set to assess the right-back before the return to action next week against Burnley in the EFL Cup.
Goldbridge said on The United Stand YouTube channel that the Portuguese would be lucky to feature in any of United’s games before the new year.
(13:29) “The feeling is we’d be very lucky to see him play for United again this year.”
“He was injured last Sunday afternoon and he’s not even had a week yet, a hamstring problem is normally somewhere between two and six weeks so realistically we won’t see him until next year unless he gets away with it and it’s not a particularly bad injury,” Goldbridge said.
TIF Thoughts on Goldbridge’s comments…
Erik ten Hag will certainly be left sweating over the fitness of Dalot who’s become the Dutchman’s nailed-on choice to play at right-back with his 20 appearances this season in all competitions limiting Aaron Wan-Bissaka to just four minutes of action all campaign.
With the club set to reveal the extent of the injury in the next couple of days, it seems unlikely he will be risked at all against Burnley but with Nottingham Forest, Wolves and Bournemouth all set to come in and around the new year period, it could cause a real selection headache.
United are already weighing up the possibility of a new signing at right-back amid Wan-Bissaka’s failure to impress ten Hag, but that search may become a priority if Dalot’s ruled out for any significant length of time.