Man Utd Star To Miss Arsenal & Tottenham Games After Being Ruled Out For A Month

Manchester United star Chris Smalling is set to miss key matches against Arsenal and Tottenham after being ruled out for at least a month with a broken toe, according tot he Mirror.

Smalling has been carrying the injury for several weeks with the centre-back missing recent games against Burnley, Swansea, Man City and Fenerbahce with that was initially thought to be a relatively minor foot problem.

The Mirror claim that Jose Mourinho asked Smalling to have two pain killing injections so he could play against Chelsea last month and the defender put in a poor display as United got hammered 4-0 at Stamford Bridge.

Smalling hasn’t been seen since and Mourinho openly criticised the England international for not playing through the pain barrier to help out his team. The Portuguese coach is quoted as saying by the Mirror last week:

“[Smalling] doesn’t feel that he can play 100 per cent without pain’.

However, Mourinho has now been left red-faced after scans revealed the true extent of Smalling’s injury with the Mirror claiming that the centre-back has broken his toe in two places.

The injury is expected to keep Smalling on the sidelines for at least a month and there are fears he may not play again before Christmas which will come as a major blow to United.

It means Smalling will miss next weekend’s huge showdown with Arsenal as well as subsequent fixtures with Feyenoord, West Ham, West Ham [EFL Cup], Everton, Zoyra and Tottenham Hotspur. If the 26-year-old is ruled out for longer than a month, then he’s at risk of missing further games against Crystal Palace and West Brom ahead of the festive period.

The news is the latest injury blow to Mourinho after Eric Bailly was ruled out with a serious knee injury while Antonio Valencia is also not expected back for at least another month after fracturing his arm.