Stricken Manchester United midfielder Michael Carrick posted a picture of his injured ankle on Twitter straight from his sickbed – after being ruled out for three months.
New Old Trafford boss Van Gaal mentioned at his unveiling press conference that Carrick had suffered an injury and would be out for ‘a long time, too long’ after he underwent surgery.
And the club later confirmed on the news on their official Twitter feed.
“Michael Carrick has had surgery this morning on his left ankle ligaments and will be out for 10-12 weeks,” the tweet said.
BREAKING: Michael Carrick has had surgery this morning on his left ankle ligaments and will be out for 10-12 weeks. #mufc
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) July 17, 2014
Carrick later tweeted: “Well I’ve had better days….very frustrating but my race to get fit has started.”
Well I’ve had better days….very frustrating but my race to get fit has started. http://t.co/Klr7xUhkpY
— Michael Carrick (@carras16) July 17, 2014
The post was accompanied by a link to a photograph looking down Carrick’s hospital bed to show his left ankle in plaster.
News of his absence emerged when Van Gaal, unprompted, announced: “Michael Carrick was injured a day or two ago so that’s a big blow, because he is an experienced player.”
The midfielder was left out of England’s World Cup squad this summer, but already appears to have been earmarked for a central role in the Dutchman’s plans.
After the Holland World Cup coach’s praise, it seems that Carrick’s temperament as well as his technical skills have caught Van Gaal’s eye.
“You have to know that I’m not always convinced of the experience of players,” he said.
“For example, a boy like Clarence Seedorf – he was 16 years old when I let him make his debut for Ajax, but he was sometimes more experienced than a player of 30 years old.
“It’s very important that we have experienced players, but not only in age, not only in football, but also experience as human beings.
“My philosophy is not only the football player but also in total – and then there are not so many ‘experienced’ players.”
Carrick will also miss United’s pre-season tour of the United States, where they will play friendlies against the Los Angeles Galaxy, Roma, Inter Milan and Real Madrid.
However, the Red Devils did announce the 25-man squad for the USA trip with newboys Luke Shaw and Ander Herrera on the plane.
Main image courtesy of Bwin, with thanks.
