On-fire Man Utd star facing devastating season-ending injury blow

Rob McCarthy 15 Apr 2025 7:08 PM

Man Utd manager Ruben Amorim, striker Joshua Zirkzee

Ruben Amorim suffers big Man Utd injury blow

Manchester United are unsure if Joshua Zirkzee will play again this season after the rejuvenated attacker picked up a hamstring injury against Newcastle United and will definitely miss Thursday night’s clash with Lyon.

The 23-year-old forward limped off in the second half of Sunday’s Premier League defeat at St James’ Park, after starting the game ahead of the misfiring Rasmus Hojlund as Ruben Amorim’s men were heavily beaten.

Zirkzee has made huge improvements over recent outings, after enduring a difficult first half of the campaign, and scored a crucial goal in the first leg of the Europa League quarter-final clash in France.

However, he will be missing at Old Trafford when the Ligue 1 outfit visit and is facing the possibility of being sidelined until next season

BBC Sport reports that Man Utd have been carrying out tests to determine the extent of the injury and are concerned he will not recover before the end of the campaign.

Red Devils boss Ruben Amorim is expected to give an update on Zirkzee’s condition when he speaks to the press on Wednesday ahead of the Lyon clash.

Victory on Thursday night will see United set up a semi-final clash with either Athletic Bilbao or Rangers.

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Zirkzee injury opens door for Hojlund again

Zirkzee enjoyed a dream start to his Old Trafford career, scoring on his debut in the Premier League opener against Fulham back in August.

However, he then endured a barren four-month period without a goal and suffered the ignominy of being subbed off in the first half of a Premier League match against Newcastle at home.

At the time, several pundits suggested Zirkzee would be offloaded after just one season at United, only for the 23-year-old to make big strides in recent weeks before suffering this huge blow. Indeed, it’s been reported that Amorim has changed his tune over the potential sale of the former Bologna man.

Zirkzee’s absence should, however, give Hojlund the chance to try and save his Red Devils career as calls for his sale escalate.

Speaking last week, former Watford striker Troy Deeney was hugely critical of the Dane, telling talkSPORT: “Based on what I saw from Hojlund against Lyon, I may as well get fit. No joke, he was awful.

“He looked confused, he looked lost. His skill set is running behind and getting pot-shots off as quickly as he can.

“He ran to players, he was marking himself as opposed to a defender marking him.

“As a striker, we’re always told if a defender can touch you and feel you, then you’re in the wrong position. He was running to the defender. ”

In terms of where Hojlund could end up next and how much United will hope to fetch for the struggling forward, Tuttomercatoweb confirmed that the Red Devils are holding out for €60m. That would equate to around £52m.

United paid £64m plus bonuses to sign Hojlund in 2023, but while that would look like a loss, it would give them enough for a capital gain.

In Financial Fair Play terms, Hojlund’s value on the books at about £38.4m. If Man Utd receive anything above that for him, it wouldn’t be recorded as a loss.