Man Utd's injury woes are killing Erik ten Hag's vibe: Red Devils need to get outstanding transfer deals done to ensure squad is in best shape possible ahead of Premier League opener

The problems afflicting United in pre-season are eerily similar to the misfortune they suffered ahead of the last campaign. Kobbie Mainoo suffered a serious ankle injury after a freak collision in the pre-season friendly with Real Madrid in Texas, while Amad Diallo damaged his knee against Arsenal in New Jersey.

Mainoo did not recover until late November while Amad did not make his first appearance until the end of December. New striker Hojlund, who had signed for £72m ($92m), meanwhile, arrived with a back injury and was unavailable until the third game of the season, meaning Rashford had to start the campaign as a centre-forward.

That was just the beginning of United’s injury troubles though, as they would go on to sustain 66 injuries throughout the season, having a huge knock-on effect as the team slumped to their lowest finish in the Premier League era and exited the Champions League at the first hurdle.

The latest spate of injuries feel much more damaging, though. While Mainoo and Amad had barely featured for the first team at the time, Yoro has just become one of United’s most expensive defenders.

The club pulled off a real coup by beating Real Madrid to his signature and he looked like a transformative signing who, together with Lisandro Martinez, could finally make United a team comfortable at building out from the back. His injury means, at least for now, that all that hard work was for nothing, as the French youngster will not be able to make his Premier League debut until early November.

And there is now extra pressure on Martinez, who missed the majority of last season with a foot and then a knee injury, to stay fit. Already it feels like 36-year-old Jonny Evans, who was leaned on far too much last season, is going to be heavily relied upon again.

The injury to Hojlund is perhaps even more concerning. The Dane had barely any pre-season training due to his participation at Euro 2024 and was thrown straight in against Arsenal in Los Angeles. He got off to a fine start by scoring the opener but after one sprint had to come off. It is the fourth injury he has suffered in one year with United, and came at a terrible time as he needed to hit the ground running in his second season, having only shown glimpses of his quality in his debut campaign.

Instead, he will not feature until after the first international break. His absence means Joshua Zirkzee is likely to begin the season at centre-forward. Zirkzee had an excellent campaign with Bologna although he has not hidden the fact he prefers playing with a strike partner and dovetailing with his fellow attackers.

He won’t be able to work up a relationship with Hojlund for some time and he might also be unable to play with Rashford. The knock to Rashford, who was seen limping out of the Snapdragon Stadium, was also frustrating as the striker, who has a point to prove after a miserable last season, had looked in fine fettle against Betis.

Antony’s knock will concern supporters less as he contributes very little even when he is at his sharpest. But the Brazilian’s injury confirms the fear that last season’s problems might not have been a freak occurrence and instead a pattern that is likely to be repeated. United hired Arsenal's long-serving doctor Gary O'Driscoll last summer and physio Jordan Reece has joined him in switching from north London to Old Trafford.

O'Driscoll oversaw a review into United's injury issues in the hope of seeing a reduction but the early evidence suggests there has been little improvement. Ten Hag blasted players for not being fit enough after the defeat in the first friendly against Rosenborg and the problem has persisted.

The manager probably needs to shoulder some of the blame too. He rotated his squad very little last season and it is felt that he brought some players back from injury too early, leading to them breaking down again soon after.

Luke Shaw, who suffered two major hamstring problems and started just 12 Premier League games last season, said his injury against Luton in February was "partly my fault, partly medical staff".

He explained: "I felt something against Aston Villa and came off at half time. I didn’t train the whole week. The scan came back and there wasn’t too much there. But I didn’t train all week, then trained the day before the game. If the manager asks me to play, I’m never going to say no. I shouldn’t have played."

Shaw made the England squad for Euro 2024 by the skin of his teeth and explained how he got into a vicious cycle of pushing himself too hard in order to get back quickly for United, leading to him getting injured again. "I did push to do everything I can to be fit for United, and that's been my whole season, really," he added. "In my opinion, I was pushing to try and get back for the games and the FA Cup final, and I think I pushed too hard."

Whatever the cause of the crisis, United look in disarray ahead of a huge campaign, one which they need to begin strongly after the last nightmare season, which was only saved by winning the FA Cup. They desperately need to get back into contention to qualify for the Champions League.

And the injury problems mean they need to press ahead with making more signings and finding new clubs for the players they hope to move on. Bringing in Manuel Ugarte should be a priority to beef up the midfield, as many of their problems stemmed from that area of the team being bypassed, as opponents easily played their way past Casemiro.

The injury to Yoro, meanwhile, necessitates the arrival of another centre-back. United have made progress with Matthijs de Ligt but must meet Bayern Munich’s asking price to get the deal done. There is no use haggling to marginally reduce the cost, and it makes much more sense to get the Dutchman in the building as soon as possible. Meanwhile, a £15m ($19m) deal for right-back Noussair Mazraoui does appear to be on the cards.

However, the Morocco international’s own injury record is a little concerning. He has been absent on 10 separate occasions within the last two seasons and missed almost two months with inflammation of the heart. He made 26 Bundesliga starts for Bayern in two seasons, which is not an inspiring record given United’s long-running injury issues.

United will need to sell Aaron Wan-Bissaka before they can complete the deal for Mazraoui. He is far from the only player who needs to leave within the next month, ideally before the campaign starts, to lift United’s transfer budget.

To date, the only players to have been sold are Mason Greenwood, Donny van de Beek and Willy Kambwala, earning the club a combined £34m ($43m). A lot more cash will need to come in, given United have already spent £94m on Zirkzee and Yoro and the club are already close to the limit of the Premier League’s profitability and sustainability rules.

Scott McTominay could be on his way out, with Fulham making a recent £20m ($43m) bid for the midfielder. Casemiro is also for sale although there has been little serious interest in the Brazilian, who is United’s highest-paid player, so far. Jadon Sancho should also leave, even after apparently patching up his differences with Ten Hag.

It is difficult to forget that he refused to apologise to the manager and that he ended up wasting four months before reviving his career on loan at Borussia Dortmund. Unlike with Casemiro, Sancho has plenty of time to turn his career around at the age of 24, and Paris Saint-Germain have emerged as potential buyers.

United’s new CEO Omar Berrada and sporting director Dan Ashworth have been hard at work since beginning their new jobs last month but they have a lot more work to do to make fans optimistic about the new season. Especially as the work they have done threatens to be undone by the club’s never-ending injury crisis.