LONDON – Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag suggested that the intensity of the English Premier League and the overloaded nature of the football schedule have contributed to the raft of injuries in his side.

On April 2, the club announced that centre-backs Victor Lindelof and Lisandro Martinez were ruled out for at least a month with muscle injuries.

Sweden captain Lindelof went off in the second half of the draw with Brentford on March 30 with a hamstring problem.

Martinez replaced him in the 69th minute, making his first appearance since early February after recovering from a knee injury. However, the Argentina international then suffered a calf strain in training and will not be available for the next games.

Luke Shaw, Tyrell Malacia and Anthony Martial are also fitness absentees, with Martinez, Rasmus Hojlund, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Mason Mount, Casemiro, Christian Eriksen and Kobbie Mainoo all missing significant chunks of the season due to injury.

Ahead of his side’s Premier League trip to Chelsea on April 4, ten Hag was asked about the cause of the spate of muscle injuries in his team.

He replied: “We have an idea but we will work on it. Internally, we will deal with it.”

Pressed further, he declined to reveal more. Muscle-related issues are seen as more avoidable than impact injuries.

But in response to whether he would change his approach to deal with United’s injury issues, the Dutchman said: “You can’t prevent, it’s not only us who’ve had this, the standards of the Premier League from an intensity perspective are so high, the overload of the schedule, international football is so huge... (Manchester) City, Liverpool and Newcastle have problems, many other teams (too).”

Manchester Evening News reported that there have been 53 separate cases of injury or illness that have contributed to a United player missing a game this campaign. 

The outlet had reported in March that a minority of United players believe the intensity of ten Hag’s training sessions have contributed to the club’s injury toll.

Meanwhile, United defender Raphael Varane has said concussions have damaged his body as he stressed the importance of creating more awareness among players around the dangers of heading.

The Frenchman said he had suffered a concussion a few days before playing in France’s 1-0 defeat by Germany in the quarter-finals of the 2014 World Cup, as well at his former club Real Madrid, when they lost to Manchester City in the last-16, second leg of the 2020 Champions League.

The 30-year-old retired from international football after a 10-year career with Les Bleus, during which he won the World Cup in 2018 and was a runner-up four years later.

“My seven-year-old son plays football and I advise him not to head the ball. For me, that’s essential,” Varane told French daily L’Equipe.

“Even if it doesn’t cause any immediate trauma, we know that, in the long term, repeated shocks can have harmful effects.

“Personally, I don’t know if I’ll live to be 100, but I do know that I’ve damaged my body. The dangers of headers need to be taught on all amateur football pitches and to young people.”

Researchers have found evidence suggesting that repetitive heading of balls during a professional football career is associated with a higher risk of cognitive impairment in later life, according to a study commissioned by England’s Football Association (FA).

The FA have trialled removing deliberate heading in matches across the Under-12 level, with other countries including Scotland banning heading on the days immediately before and after matches.

The International Football Association Board in March said additional permanent concussion substitutions will be enshrined in football’s laws but it remains an option which is up to organisers of individual competitions to implement.

“No matter how much the player says he wants to play, the medical staff have to veto it because it puts players’ lives at risk,” Varane said.

“We also have to make the player understand that it’s not showing his strength to continue playing after a serious injury, but that the real strength lies in getting out, stopping playing and resting.

“This can be difficult for a top-level athlete to take on board.”

Varane added that he missed a few games for United this season due to symptoms of concussion. REUTERS