It will have been “massive surprise” to some Man United stars when they tested positive for Covid – but the time off may do them some good.
That is the view of medical expert Ben Dinnery, who runs the Premier Injuries site and has a background in injury and data analysis.
Covid has swept through Carrington in recent weeks, with as many as 19 players and staff members affected at one point.
But as per BBC Sport yesterday (23 November), manager Ralf Rangnick revealed the crisis has abated and that “Paul Pogba is the only one missing.”
Pogba has been sidelined with a groin injury since November.
Dinnery suggests that players who contracted the virus but had no symptoms will have treated the time off like a “mini Christmas break”.
“It all depends on how they have been affected,” he told Football Insider‘s Adam Williams.
“I have spoken to people in and around the clubs where it has come as a massive surprise that players have tested positive.
“They have been asymptomatic and there has been nothing to suggest from their physiological output that they are suffering from anything.
“Yes, they will be required to self-isolate. Yes, they will be away from that competitive environment. Yes, they will be limited in terms of training.
“But they will still be able to maintain baseline fitness. A lot of these players have their own home gyms. It isn’t a massive amount of time away.
“It’s an opportunity for them coming off a dense fixture period to get a mini little Christmas break. It will allow them to prepare the festive fixture run.”
United are due to play Newcastle United on 27 December.
They have five more matches between then and the winter break, which begins on 22 Janunary.