SMALLING TO UNDERGO GROIN
INJURY SCAN
By Kris Voakes
The England centre-back was forced to
continue after suffering the blow in the 77th
minute of Manchester United's 3-2
Champions League defeat to Wolfsburg on
Tuesday
Chris Smalling is to undergo a scan on
Wednesday after suffering a groin injury in
the final game of Manchester United's
Champions League campaign at Wolfsburg.
The England defender went down with the
problem in the 77th minute of the 3-2
defeat at the Volkswagen Arena which saw
United slump out of the competition.
But with his side 2-1 behind, the England
international was asked to continue by club
staff. As a result, Smalling ended the game
as a makeshift striker but his movement
was clearly limited.
And the injury hit Red Devils will send
Smalling for a scan after their return to
England on Wednesday to discover the full
extent of the 26-year-old's injury.
Smalling was not the only player to suffer
an injury on Tuesday, with Matteo Darmian
leaving the field after 41 minutes with a
hamstring issue which saw the Italian
replaced by youngster Cameron Borthwick-
Jackson.
United went into the game already nursing
seven injuries, with Wayne Rooney (ankle),
Morgan Schneiderlin (hip), Ander Herrera
(hamstring), Marcos Rojo (shoulder),
Antonio Valencia (foot), Luke Shaw (broken
leg) and Phil Jones (ankle) all failing to
make the trip to Germany.
Manager Louis van Gaal and his staff will
now have to assess their options ahead of
the visit to Bournemouth in the Premier
League on Staurday while keeping their
fingers crossed over the status of Smalling
among others.