November 9th 2023.
Jonny Evans' future is uncertain after the Manchester United defender was forced off early on in their Champions League defeat to Copenhagen. The Northern Ireland international was replaced by Raphael Varane after just 16 minutes, and the club is now waiting to discover the extent of the injury.
Evans had returned to the club on a free transfer in the summer after eight years away, and had started six times for United this season. Manager Erik ten Hag was not sure how bad the injury was when asked for an update; “I'm not sure in this moment,” he said. “He has to come off. I think it was a pity because he was part of it from that good part in the game where we were controlling, very composed and calm, it’s the way I see my team. Yeah, but he had to come off and I think still we are in control, still we are leading. So we have to see how bad it is.”
The manager went on to stress that he isn’t relying on just 11 players, and that he has good replacements ready. Evans had been forming a regular partnership with Harry Maguire in recent weeks, and the club will have to wait and see if he can feature in their game against Luton Town on Saturday, before the final international break of the year.
Varane had been among the substitutes in recent weeks, having been left out of the Manchester City derby for 'tactical' reasons despite returning to fitness and missing the Carabao Cup defeat to Newcastle United through illness. Former United legend Paul Scholes shared his concerns about the situation, suggesting that Ten Hag was playing Maguire and Evans as the two best ball-playing centre-halves.
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