Phil Jones has been in great form but picked up an ankle injury in the victory over Reading
Manchester United are through to the quarter finals of the FA Cup after a 2-1 victory over Reading at Old Trafford, however Phil Jones picked up an ankle injury as was seen leaving Old Trafford on crutches. Jones, who was excellent in the 1-1 draw in Madrid, rolled his ankle in a tackle on Reading captain Jobi McAnuff and was replaced by Nani just before half time. The versatile youngster will be hoping it is only strained ankle ligaments as United enter the business end of the season.
Update: Thursday 21st at 13:45.
Sir Alex Ferguson believes Jones will miss the trip to QPR on Saturday
“We’ll have to assess him. It’s an ankle injury obviously so I’d imagine he’ll not be ready for Saturday anyway. But we’ll see what he’s like after that.”
Jones made an immediate impact when he signed from Blackburn Rovers in the summer of 2011, but suffered a series of injuries that ruled him out of the start of this campaign. His first appearance was in the 1-0 defeat to Turkish side Galatasaray, a game which Manchester United were already through to the next stage of the Champions League. The youngster has only played in 15 games so far this season and is yet to find the back of the net or provide an assist. Sir Alex will be hoping his young starlet will be fit for the return leg against Madrid on March 5th following his impressive display last week.
Injury Update
There are conflicting reports from the Guardian and Telegraph this afternoon. The Guardian claim that Jones is confident of facing Real Madrid on March 5th, whilst The Telegraph claim the extent of the injury will not be known until the swelling subsides, which will be towards the end of the week.
The BBC are reporting that Phil Jones has an ‘outside chance’ of making the last 16 clash with Real Madrid. Sir Alex Ferguson was quoted as saying:
“He has an outside chance for Real Madrid, no more than that. He [Jones] is a young man who went into a tackle too brave and was a bit off-balanced. We are working very hard, but he certainly won’t be fit for the weekend.”
HI there, do you got new update on Jones injury ??
i do hope you guys will update. Thanks for this 😀
This injury makes me nervous! We lack a direct replacement for Jones in his midfield destroyer role. I think Tom Cleverley’s energy skill could be useful alongside Carrick but he does not have the defensive acumen Jones has. I enjoy watching Anderson drive at defenders since there are times are midfield becomes static but he does not have the tactical discipline required to play against Madrid for 90 minutes. Both players also are without Jones size, I believe Jones’ size and physicality help him when battling Ronaldo who is a specimen in his own right.
My biggest fear though is Sir Alex reverting back to a 4-4-2 with Jones out. I could easily see him go back to the “tried and true formula” of his 4-4-2 and with that I believe we would be overrun and all the hard work done at the Bernabeu would be for naught.
Hi Paolo.
There is more chance of me lining up at Old Trafford than Ferguson playing a 4-4-2. Real will adopt a 4-2-3-1 and I expect United to do likewise.