Injury Update- Defender ruled out for weeks, could miss out seven top matches in December

Manchester United have been hit another defensive injury blow after Chris Smalling is set to be out of action for four weeks. Smalling is injured with a broken toe and this has further compounded the injury worries for Manchester United.

Reports from Mirror claim that Manchester United defender’s toe is broken into two and this could rule him out of action for a month meaning he could come back by Christmas. The England International is likely to miss about seven matches including clashes in the premier league against Arsenal, Tottenham and Everton as well as an EFL cup quarter final match against West Ham.

The present situation would embarrass Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho after he publicly criticized Smalling and questioned his commitment to the club. Smalling has not played for United since the 4-0 defeat at Chelsea and was criticized by Mourinho after United’s 3-1 victory over Swansea for not playing through the pain barrier.

Mourinho at the time said ‘[Smalling] doesn’t feel that he can play 100 per cent without pain’.

Smalling has been a regular since Danny Blind started playing in the left back position and had struck up a good partnership with Eric Bailey in the heart of United’s defense. This will be a major blow for United as they have other defenders like Eric Bailey and Antonio Valencia out injured.

The situation could see Blind return to partner Jones who just returned from injury in the centre back position leaving Marcos Rojo as the only option left in centre back.