Manchester United legend Paul Scholes has claimed modern-day players have a mindset problem, as they do not go above and beyond to expedite their recovery.
Injuries are a part and parcel of football. During every transfer window, clubs spend huge money to add depth to their squads, knowing that managing injuries is crucial for a successful campaign.
With the fixture calendar getting busier every year, injuries are becoming more and more frequent. Players and managers have been campaigning to ease the workload, but according to Premier League legend Scholes, there is also a mindset issue fueling the injury crisis.
Manchester United Legend Paul Scholes Calls Out Modern Players’ Mindset
Speaking on The Overlap Podcast, Scholes complained that modern-day players did not work hard enough to bounce back quicker than the prognosis.
The 11-time Premier League champion said (via The Mirror):
“I think that mentality is a big thing when people get injured. Say someone does their hamstring and the physio says it’s eight weeks, the first thing I wanted to know was what I had done, how long I’d be out, then my mentality switched to, ‘right, I’m going to beat it. I’m going to get back before it.’
“I could imagine that I was a pain in the a*** for the physios because I was always going to the physio everyday saying, ‘what am I doing today? Can I step up to the bike? When am I going outside?’”
He added:
“I don’t see that in many players these days. Once you say 12 weeks hamstring, that’s it, they’re taking 12 weeks and they’re not coming back before that.”
Scholes’ former team Manchester United are currently trying to manage an injury crisis. First-choice centre-back Lisandro Martinez is out for the season (knee), while midfielder Mason Mount and backup goalkeepers Altay Bayindir and Tom Heaton are also carrying injuries. Left-back Luke Shaw has not featured for United in more than a year, Jonny Evans is not available for selection, Kobbie Mainoo is on the treatment table, and jet-heeled winger Amad Diallo is out for the campaign after injuring his ankle ligaments in training.
Injury-hit Manchester United are currently toiling in 14th place in the Premier League rankings. They will return to top-flight action with a clash against Arsenal on 9th March.
