Striker Rasmus Hojlund and £52m new signing Leny Yoro both suffered first-half injuries as Manchester United lost their opening US tour game against Premier League rivals Arsenal 2-1 in Los Angeles.
Hojlund had given his side a 10th-minute lead when he burst onto Marcus Rashford’s first-time pass, outmuscled young defender Ayden Heaven, then beat keeper Karl Hein with a shot through his legs.
The Dane turned a low Aaron Wan-Bissaka cross wide from close range before seeming to experience a muscle injury after 15 minutes that meant he could not continue.
Yoro’s exit was equally innocuous. The 18-year-old defender, who only joined United from Lille 10 days ago, went down and needed lengthy treatment before he too called it a day.
Given the huge number of injuries that wrecked last season for manager Erik ten Hag, to lose two senior players in such a manner fewer than three weeks before United open their new Premier League campaign against Fulham at Old Trafford on 16 August is not ideal.
“We have to wait 24 hours and then we will hopefully know more,” Ten Hag told MUTV.
“We were very careful, especially with Leny. It is disappointing he had to come off but let’s be positive and see what comes out.”
Despite the bright start, the result was not to the Dutchman’s satisfaction either.
Gabriel Jesus levelled with a close-range finish after 25 minutes, which Ten Hag was certain should have been disallowed for offside, before substitute Gabriel Martinelli cut inside 17-year-old rookie full-back James Scanlon to score the winner.
United did triumph in a pre-arranged penalty shoot-out that followed, with Jadon Sancho scoring the decisive spot-kick to seal a 4-3 win.
Injury woe for Ten Hag
Ten Hag made the demands being placed on players this season a theme of his pre-match news conference, stating the campaign itself would be a “survival of the fittest” and that “it will happen” when talking of injuries.
The reality must have exceeded his worst fears as first Hojlund, then Yoro went down of their own accord.
Hojlund appeared to feel his groin before making his way straight down the tunnel. Yoro took the longer route after lengthy treatment but was walking exceptionally slowly and seemed to be in a lot of discomfort.
Victor Lindelof had also been ruled out with an injury ‘niggle’, so 20-year-old Rhys Bennett, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Stockport, took over as Harry Maguire’s defensive partner.
If injuries were the negative, the positive from the performance for Ten Hag was the performance of midfielder Mason Mount.
The former Chelsea man was one of the players who spent as much time on the treatment table as the pitch last season but in front of over 60,000 spectators, Mount probed in the manner of old and looked a genuine threat at times.
Arsenal in the groove
As was the case against Bournemouth four days ago, Emile Smith-Rowe was left out of the Arsenal matchday squad as negotiations continue over a proposed move to Fulham.
Riccardo Calafiori is expected to be confirmed as a new signing in the next 48 hours and with the likes of England duo Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka to join up once they return to London, Arsenal will eventually look a lot different to how they did here.
Yet, in patches, they showed a fluidity in possession their opponents could not match.
Much to his manager’s frustration, one move came to an abrupt end when skipper Martin Odegaard appeared to be taken out by Bennett without a free-kick being awarded.
Jesus looked particularly lively for Arsenal and Martinelli, who has only just returned following Copa America duty with Brazil, was a threat from the moment he came on, with 19 minutes left.
By that time Jonny Evans was the only experienced player in United’s defence and the Brazilian took advantage to win the game.
“One training session and he comes in and plays at that level,” said Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta. “That’s the mentality of the team and individuals.
“Gabriel looks really sharp. He has changed a lot of things over the summer. You can see. The way he looks, his rhythm, his sharpness.
“You can see it in his eyes. There’s some spark there. Now he has a point to prove and that is good.”
What kind of pitch was Arsenal v Man Utd played on?
The game was played on a grass pitch grown especially for the game and will be taken out on Monday to prepare the stadium for other events due to be held.
While stadium officials said the move was cost effective, when asked about the environmental impact, they said attempts to find another party to take the pitch had so far proved unsuccessful.