Manchester United have confirmed Nani’s injury following the winger’s withdrawal in the 3-1 loss at the hands of Liverpool today, reporting that the midfielder suffered “a very deep gash” in his leg.
A wild challenge by Jamie Carragher just before half time saw Nani eventually stretchered from the Anfield proceedings and the player will be assessed tomorrow morning at the club’s training ground. A time on the sidelines would see the player transferred out in significant numbers- not only is he the top-scoring Fantasy Premier League player this season, he is far and away the top-owned, with an incredible 48% of all Fantasy Managers having him in their sides. Until any further information is forthcoming, however, perhaps it’s best to hold fire before considering the repercussions.
Nani’s peculiar behaviour – pursuing referee Phil Dowd before tearfully crumbling to the turf following the brutal Carragher lunge- initially left many perplexed and questioning the severity of the injury. Subsequent reports of a media blackout and suspect photographs left the incident feeling more like the making of a Film Noire than the outcome of a football match.
The Red Devils supposedly issued a media embargo, allegedly in reaction to the loss, and screenshots of the wound are flying around the Twittersphere (with one certainly more questionable than the other) as we speak.
The club’s next league match is due to take place on Saturday 19th March at home to Bolton, though as Andy has recently pointed out, if next weekend’s FA Cup tie with Arsenal ends in a draw, the replay would take precedent over the Bolton game, meaning United would have a blank gameweek 30. Given that their gameweek 31 match is not due to take place until Saturday 2nd April, Nani may not miss any league time at all.
Hopefully the club will be more forthcoming tomorrow and you can be sure we’ll post any more information if and when it appears.
