Ben Foster makes Cristiano Ronaldo draw attention to Manchester United’s crisis, it’s impossible to argue

It’s a well-worn but valid excuse, and one the manager feels compelled to make, following heavy speculation over his job.

There have been concerns about how quickly Manchester United’s players are working to return from injury.

Club legend Wayne Rooney told Sky Sports he felt the players were not pushing themselves to return to first-team action.

Ben Foster on Manchester United injuries

Wayne Rooney’s former Manchester United team-mate Ben Foster disagrees that some players are not fighting hard enough to return.

Speaking to The United Stand, Foster remarked: “I agree with Wayne Rooney, there are too many players who are happy to be injured.”

But Foster’s real concern was that so many injuries were recorded in the first place, and he believes many of them are preventable.

He explained: “A lot of people see injured players and say ‘oh that’s so unlucky’

“And having been in football for 20 years, I think some of them are very unlucky. Some injuries, for sure. Yes, they were inevitable. But the vast majority can be prevented.

“The vast majority can be prevented by doing extra work in the gym, warming up, cooling down, rehab, all kinds of things, preventative work in the gym to strengthen the areas and around the areas so you don’t get any, or a re-injury.”

Cristiano Ronaldo did the work

Foster referenced one of his and Rooney’s former teammates, Cristiano Ronaldo, who had two spells at Manchester United.

Ronaldo is still scoring at a prolific rate at the age of 39. He rarely misses a match, becoming notorious throughout his career for putting in extra work in the gym.

The Sun reported in 2022 how Ronaldo was the first at Carrington and among the last to leave as he looked to put in extra work.

This was meant to benefit his game but also the basics to simply stay fit and injury free.

Foster pointed out: “He invests in himself like his business and makes sure he’s got everything right. So everything is taken care of.

“So very rarely will he get hurt, because of that exact fact.”

Foster added: “You’re always going to have bone injuries and massive tears are completely avoidable.

“But hamstring tweaks and strains are preventable, you know, really, so when I see somebody constantly hurting themselves all the time, sometimes I say, maybe you need to change something in what you’re doing on a day-to-day basis day.”