During Uruguay's game against Ecuador on Tuesday night, Manuel Ugarte had to be substituted in the 82nd minute due to what looked like a fitness issue says Rich Fay.

These were the midfielder's first minutes since the 3-0 loss to Spurs in which he played 65 minutes. In the defeat to Peru, Ugarte was actually used as a centre-back in which he played the full 90. This shows his versatility.

There were some rumors as well that this fitness issue had to do with Ugarte suffering from an ankle or hamstring problem. If that is the true reason, it could really be a big blow for United.

Or will it?

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Final Thoughts

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I'm not sure whether this will be a big blow to United but more specifically, to Erik ten Hag. The MUFC boss has hardly used his new £42m signing who's played all but 256 minutes in five games for the club this season.

He's only started three and completed just one 90 minutes. ten Hag has also not played him in any of our last two games, both ending in draws at Porto and Villa.

This made us all wonder as to what was the point in bringing him in only for the manager to not use the midfielder. INEOS more than anyone will be really confused at ten Hag's decision to not make use of a player they spent a large portion of the transfer window trying to get.

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Even if he was available for the weekend, which could still be a possibility, I don't think he would've been selected in the XI. Perhaps another substitute appearance was in the offing.

But if he is injured and out for a bit, this just indicates again what a waste of time these internationals are. We've already had two with the third coming in mid-November.

Players have been complaining about the amount of fixtures there are in the calendar and could be a cause as to why we see more and more injuries.

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I'm not sure why we have so many internationals. They are so boring as most of the time they're games that don't really matter. I get that playing for your country is a privilege and honor but if it leads to injuries and drop in performances because of the amount of games, then we really should be scrapping them.

This would be our 11th injury of the season and while he may not be a key player for United, we need the numbers as rotation is key given the busy schedule.

With Mainoo's injury, Mount's unreliability, Casemiro's drop in quality, Bruno not looking like himself at all (at least in a United shirt) and now Ugarte's (potential) problem, it leaves just Eriksen who is the fit and performing midfielder. The 32-year-old with a pacemaker 😐.

Boy, we really are scraping the barrell.

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Background Image: Manuel Ugarte playing for Uruguay | Creator: Megan Briggs | Credit: Getty Images Copyright: 2024 Getty Images via Goal