Erik ten Hag fears winger Antony suffered a “serious” injury as Manchester United fulfilled the “main objective” of Champions League qualification by thrashing Chelsea.
The Red Devils sealed their return to European football’s top table with a game to spare by thrashing Frank Lampard’s wasteful Blues 4-1 at Old Trafford on Thursday evening.
Casemiro, Anthony Martial, Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford scored before Joao Felix struck a late consolation on a night that saw Antony leave on a stretcher in the first half.
Asked for an update on the Brazil international, Ten Hag said: “I don’t know. Everyone has seen he came off.
“I can tell you that it’s serious but we have to wait minimum 24 hours and then we know probably more about the status of his injury.”
Ten Hag’s comments suggest Antony is in danger of missing the FA Cup final against Manchester City on June 3, with Luke Shaw also requiring assessment after being substituted with a reported back issue.
“We have to wait,” he said. “Antony looks serious but we don’t know what it is. With Shaw, we have to wait as well. After tomorrow we know more.”
Their absence would be big blows for a United side that are already without Lisandro Martinez, Marcel Sabitzer and Donny van de Beek for the FA Cup final.
Beating City would be the cherry on top of what Ten Hag believes has already been a “successful season”.
“I have always high expectations of myself and I think this club belongs in the Champions League, so you have to qualify in the first four,” he said.
“But this league is very strong, and there are many teams, many clubs, who are competing for the position and they all can do it because they have high budgets, good squads.
“We see Chelsea, they have massive, good squad with outstanding players.
“So, we are happy we are in the first four. I think we played a good season in the Premier League. I would say, a very good season.”
Put to Ten Hag that former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger said finishing in the top four was the equivalent of winning a trophy, Ten Hag said: “Oh, I think in the Premier League, yeah, it’s something like that.
“That is, I think, the main objective of the season, to get in the Champions League.
“So, therefore you have to see yourself in the top four and, as I just tried to respond, the competition is tough.
“It’s many teams with really good squads, good managers, so when you are in there you’re doing a good job and your team is playing well and performing well.
“I think this is for this moment the maximum, but we want more.”
That hunger for more means backing is required in the summer transfer window, whoever United’s owners are.
“You have to see how you come out of the transfer window,” Ten Hag added.
“But if I see now I think we need more, so I don’t have so much patience. And that is one of my mistakes.”
Chelsea were already guaranteed to finish in bottom half for the first time in 27 years before this club record 16th defeat in a 38-game Premier League season.
Interim boss Frank Lampard was understandably downtrodden in the press conference that followed his eighth loss in 10 matches in charge.
“My personal feeling? I don’t think it’s about my personal feeling, I think it’s probably about the reality of where we’re at,” he said.
“I’ve said it a lot going into the game, when things are off for a period, which has been the season for us – you can trace it back to probably pre-season – and then it’s not easy to turn it.
“Then when you get into a run-in against top clubs that are going for something, nothing’s a given in this game.
“Mixed feelings. We played OK in parts today, there was some individual performances within the game, which I think can be nice shoots for the future if they’re worked on.
“But of course the reality is when you come to Manchester United and how clinical they are in front of goal and how non-clinical we were, how we defended individually poorly in the second half, then the result can come.”
Tonali set for August return after receiving suspended two-month ban from FA
Sandro Tonali has been given a suspended two-month ban by the Football Association (FA) after admitting to breaching gambling rules.
The sanction means the Newcastle United midfielder will be eligible to return to action on August 27, 2024, when his 10-month suspension issued by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) expires.
FIFA ratified that ban, causing it to become applicable worldwide, after Tonali admitted to placing bets on matches as part of an investigation into unregulated betting platforms in Italy.
In March, the FA charged Tonali with breaching English football's gambling rules 50 times between August and October last year, leading to fears his spell out of the game could be extended.
However, on Thursday it was confirmed that the FA had suspended Tonali's punishment for the duration of the 2024-25 season, meaning he can return in August if he does not reoffend.
In a statement, Newcastle said: "Sandro Tonali has been given a suspended two-month ban from competitive football by an independent regulatory commission after self-declaring breaches of FA betting rules.
"He has also been fined £20,000 and warned by the FA as to his future conduct.
"Provided that he does not commit any further breach of the FA betting rules during the suspension period, Sandro will not serve any part of the two-month sanction.
"As acknowledged by the FA in the independent regulatory commission's written reasons, the level of assistance Sandro has provided by self-referring and fully cooperating with a subsequent investigation is extraordinary and unprecedented.
"Sandro is continuing to follow a therapeutic plan and educational programme with the club's full support and will continue to train with his team-mates."
Tonali's initial ban has limited him to just eight Premier League appearances since he joined Newcastle from Milan in a £55million deal, while he will also miss Italy's Euro 2024 campaign.
Will Still leaves Reims job with immediate effect
Will Still has left his role as Reims head coach with immediate effect, the Ligue 1 club announced on Thursday.
Still took over as Reims boss – initially on an interim basis – after Oscar Garcia was sacked in October 2022 and went unbeaten through his first 19 league games at the helm.
The 31-year-old was eventually handed the role on a permanent basis and led Reims to an 11th-placed finish in Ligue 1 in 2022-23, with his lack of a UEFA Pro Licence causing the club to be fined €25,000 per match until he began the course.
Reims are currently 11th in Ligue 1 again, though they are winless in their last five games and have lost each of their last three.
In a statement, the club said: "Following a meeting this morning between president Jean-Pierre Caillot, general manager Mathieu Lacour and head coach Will Still, it was mutually agreed that the two parties would not continue the sporting adventure together next season.
"In order to allow Reims to confidently look forward to the next year, it was also decided that Will Still and his deputy Nicolas Still would step down from their respective functions as of today."
Still was linked with the Sunderland job earlier this season and said in February that he would be open to joining an "ambitious" Championship club.
'It's a joke' – Ten Hag slams reports of Man Utd fire sale
Erik ten Hag has angrily denied reports claiming almost every player in Manchester United's squad will be up for sale in the upcoming transfer window, describing them as "a joke".
United are officially out of the running for Champions League qualification and could yet end Ten Hag's second season at the helm out of Europe entirely, with Newcastle United and Chelsea among the teams looking to hunt down the sixth-placed Red Devils.
Big changes are expected in United's first transfer window under the stewardship of INEOS founder Jim Ratcliffe, who assumed full control of football operations when his purchase of a minority stake in the club was ratified in February.
Earlier this week, reports emerged suggesting United were entertaining offers for all but three of their players, namely Rasmus Hojlund, Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo.
Speaking at a press conference to preview Monday's Premier League trip to Crystal Palace, Ten Hag shot down those suggestions.
"It's a joke! As long as I worked here, 200 players are apparently getting interest from Manchester United every summer, which is untrue. We did some research," Ten Hag said.
"Every summer, we sell every player in our squad, which is untrue. Be calm and take responsibility when you make up such a headline. It is total c**p."
Despite coming under fierce pressure this campaign, Ten Hag has repeatedly insisted he will remain at Old Trafford for the 2024-25 season.
He knows there is plenty to be done as the Red Devils enter a new era, saying: "There's always a lot of work, that's normal when you go into a transfer window.
"We are still below the levels of the expectations that Manchester United have, so we have to catch up.
"I am now going into my fifth window, two windows were okay, two windows we did nothing. We have to make new improvements in the summer.
"There is a base of this squad that is very good. Injuries had a big impact on our season."
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