Sport
Donny van de Beek could be out for a year after horror tackle, according to medical expert
He suffered a heavy injury during United's Premier League match against Bournemouth on Tuesday.
Danny Jones -
5th January 2023 
Manchester United midfielder Donny van de Beek looks set to be out for a year following a serious injury sustained on Tuesday, December 3.
The 25-year-old has remained on the fringes of the side since he joined back in 2020, both due to prior albeit much less severe injuries and by being overlooked by his previous two managers, but looked to be gradually getting minutes again under new United boss and his former Ajax coach, Erik ten Hag.
That was until a mistimed and rather hefty challenge from Bournemouth defender Marcos Senesi saw his leg hyperextend in an extremely uncomfortable fashion, leaving the Dutchman writhing around in pain for some time.
It soon became clear to fans inside the ground that it was a pretty serious one. Visibly emotional following yet another setback, van de Beek struggled to make it off the pitch as he was replaced by Alejandro Garnacho just before the half-time whistle sounded. So unfortunate.
Addressing media after the 3-0 victory, ten Hag himself confessed that it “does not look good” judging by the initial scans and that they should get a clearer picture in the coming days.
While the exact nature of the injury is yet to be confirmed by the club, it is suspected that he suffered a ruptured ACL following the impact — an absolute worse nightmare for any player — and could be out for a whole year.
That’s the opinion of medical expert Ben Dinnery, anyway, who described the moment to Football Insider in detail: “The knee hyperextended and then you also see the knee bend inwards. When you add the external force and the power from the challenge – it didn’t look great.”
He went on to add that the United medical team will now be checking the “integrity of the ligaments”, assess whether it is indeed an ACL injury and also look for “a fracture of the bone”. I mean, he’d be lucky to escape without hurting something after this:
Read more:
- Jack Butland undergoing United medical ‘in the next few hours’ as he prepares for loan move
- Raducanu bows out of ASB Classic in tears with another injury, just days before Australian Open
- Manchester United fans swap the lyrics in famous Ronaldo chant to suit Alejandro Garnacho
Dinnery went on to say that “given the force of the challenge and the mechanism of the injury, [these kinds of damage] doesn’t usually happen in isolation”, adding that there’s also “potential involvement with the MCL (Medial Collateral ligament) and even some meniscus damage as well.”
He concluded by saying that the hyperextension reminded him of “Zlatan Ibrahimovich and Kurt Zouma’s injuries a few years ago”, both of whom were out for the season and much longer.
The horror tackle genuinely could have been a leg-breaker and no one wants to see a player’s season derailed and future career jeopardised like that. Here’s hoping it’s not as serious as suspected.
Get well soon, Donny.
For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.
Featured Image — Manchester United (via Twitter)
