Monday, July 28, 2014

INJURED RAFAEL LEAVES MANCHESTER UNITED'S TOUR OF USA

Manchester United defender Rafael has returned to England for treatment on a groin injury.
Injured Rafael leaves Manchester United's tour of USA
The Brazilian suffered the problem during training in Denver on Friday ahead of the 3-2 win against AS Roma.
In Rafael's absence, Antonio Valencia started in the right wing-back role, with Ashley Young taking over in the second-half.
United open their Premier League campaign against Swansea at Old Trafford on 16 August.
A statement on the club's website read: "As he [Rafael] was unlikely to participate in the remaining tour games, returning to the Aon Training Complex affords the best overall option for his recovery in time to continue pre-season preparation when the team returns." 
Louis van Gaal's reign as United manager began solidly in the Colorado capital as they followed up a 7-0 rout of LA Galaxy by recording a 3-2 victory over Serie A giants Roma on Saturday.
But the Dutchman already faces a selection dilemma with the news that Rafael will not feature in any of United's two remaining US tour games, leaving part-time right-backs Phil Jones and Chris Smalling in contention for the role.
Another option is to adopt a 3-5-2 formation, with the versatile Antonio Valencia operating at wing-back - a system Van Gaal used to good effect when guiding Holland to the semi-finals of World Cup 2014.

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