Erik ten Hag has defended his decision not to bring in extra striking support after Rasmus Hojlund’s injury left Manchester United without a recognised centre-forward for up to three weeks.
United’s £72m summer signing scored for the sixth successive Premier League game in Sunday’s 2-1 win at Luton Town.
But Denmark striker Hojlund, 21, will now miss the club’s next three games.
“It is a small injury, two or three weeks,” said Ten Hag. “It is a risk in high-intensity training.”
Hojlund will be absent for the home league game against Fulham on Saturday, Wednesday’s FA Cup fifth-round tie at Nottingham Forest and the Manchester derby at City on 3 March.
He has scored 13 goals in 30 appearances for United in all competitions since joining from Serie A side Atalanta on a five-year deal.
Hojlund’s injury comes as United’s other central striker Anthony Martial is recovering from groin surgery he had last month, which will keep him out until April.
Given Martial’s patchy form and fitness over the past two seasons, relying on the Frenchman seemed a risk.
In January 2023, United signed Burnley forward Wout Weghorst on loan, but the Dutchman scored just two goals in 31 appearances.
Ten Hag says a combination of what he had seen from Martial on the pitch, the former Monaco man’s wages and the wider Financial Fair Play restrictions created by United’s recent heavy spending in the transfer market, were the reasons he brought no further back-up to Old Trafford.
“First of all, striker options are most difficult to fill this in, especially on our level,” he said.
“Last season, Martial did great things for us. We played our best football last year with Anthony Martial as a striker. He is also on high payment in this club, so when you bring another one in, you strike him out.”
When it was suggested to Ten Hag that Martial was not a player whose availability could be trusted and contingencies should have been put in place during the summer, Ten Hag was blunt in his response.
“That is very naive,” added the Dutchman. “Strikers are not cheap. We thought, we had options.
“But when it [Martial injury] develops, I wanted to bring in a striker in the winter, but it was not possible. And, similar, was the problems we already had with FFP in the summer.
“There was real shortage on good options. That is why we were very happy to sign Rasmus Hojlund, who is a player at the level of Manchester United.”
Scott McTominay is the club’s second-highest goalscorer in all competitions this season, behind Hojlund, with eight goals.
United also lost left-back Luke Shaw earlier in the week after he suffered a leg injury that could keep him out for months.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Lisandro Martinez, Mason Mount and Tyrell Malacia are all sidelined too.
No extra pressure following Ratcliffe arrival – Ten Hag
Ten Hag was speaking to the media for the first time since Sir Jim Ratcliffe bought a 27.7% stake in United, with the Dutchman denying the deal increases the pressure on his job given Ratcliffe’s expectations for the club.
In an interview with Sport earlier this week, Ratcliffe said his short-term ambitions are to help United qualify for the Champions League, with one of his long-term aims to knock rivals Manchester City and Liverpool “off their perch”.
“No more pressure because we have the same ambition, we have the same targets,” said Ten Hag.
“We are very aligned. Their ambitions fit with the ambitions I have, with the ambitions I had when I came in.
“We are in that project now. For me, I’m 18, 19 months in and I see [things] go in the right direction. We had setbacks in the second season but you see the team coming, you see the squad progressing and developing.”
United have won four in a row in the Premier League but remain five points adrift of the top four.
“We still have to catch up in the moment where every game is a final for us because we have to be in the Champions League,” said Ten Hag. “The players want this, the team want this but we have to believe.”
‘Hojlund injury a devastating blow’
Analysis by Sport’s Simon Stone
This is devastating news for Ten Hag as he looks to secure the Champions League qualification Sir Jim Ratcliffe said was key for United’s season on Wednesday.
It also raises question marks over Ten Hag’s priorities when it came to summer recruitment.
In only buying Hojlund, it meant United’s main cover as a central striker was Anthony Martial.
The Frenchman has shown neither the form nor fitness to suggest he was worth relying on when it came to helping the club in their aims for the season.
With Martial sidelined until April following groin surgery, Ten Hag needs Marcus Rashford – who has not had the greatest season – to fill the void and wide man Antony, who has been even less effective, to “step up”, in the words he likes to use.
No-one can be sure they will deliver.
