Manchester United may well have begun a busy run of fixtures with a dramatic 3-2 win at Hull City on Boxing Day but their squad has been stretched further with news that Phil Jones is out for a ‘couple of weeks’.
The versatile centre-back, who has often been utilised in midfield already this season, has been sidelined with a knee injury that is now likely to keep him out of games against Norwich and Tottenham in the league, as well as a FA Cup third round clash against Swansea and the Capital One Cup semi-final first leg against Sunderland.
“We can confirm Phil Jones has suffered a knee injury and is expected to be out for a couple of weeks,” a statement from United read.
Jones was of course absent as Man United recovered from the double early setback of conceding twice in the opening 13 minutes at the KC Stadium to goals from James Chester and David Meyler, with Chris Smalling and Wayne Rooney levelling matters before the break.
The winner turned out to be an own goal from Chester although the Tigers still could have taken a point but missed a couple of late chances.
United also had to contend with the early retirement of right-back Rafael while Antonio Valencia has picked up a suspension after collecting two yellow cards to be given his marching orders.
With Robin van Persie and Marouane Fellaini also on the sidelines, there was some good news for United boss David Moyes as he was able to include Darren Fletcher from the start while Michael Carrick was a second-half substitute.
After a quiet summer in the transfer market, Moyes may decide to bolster his ranks with a move in the impending January window and has already been linked with a number of targets.
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