Mazraoui joins growing injury list as Manchester United's international break misery deepens

Noussair Mazraoui is the latest Manchester United player to pick up an injury concern during the international break, after the Moroccan defender was substituted in the 69th minute of his country’s 2-0 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier victory over Lesotho on Tuesday.

Mazraoui, 28, had started at left-back for Morocco when he went to ground near the touchline in the second half, signalling for medical attention after winning a tackle. The nature of the injury remains unclear, with Achraf Hakimi coming on as his replacement. United will now wait for an update on whether Mazraoui can continue featuring for Morocco during the remainder of the break.

The setback is the seventh of its kind for United during the three-week hiatus. Patrick Dorgu was withdrawn during Denmark’s 2-0 win over Wales at the weekend, while Bruno Fernandes missed Portugal’s victory over Norway — though the captain could return against Denmark on Thursday. Karl Darlow, Marcus Rashford, and Kobbie Mainoo all withdrew from Wales and England duty respectively last week, and Benjamin Sesko pulled out of the Slovenia squad.

The injury concerns compound an already difficult start to the season for United, who went into the break having won just one of their opening five Premier League matches under Ruben Amorim — including a 1-1 draw with Fulham in their last outing. The club had already been managing the absences of Amad Diallo, Manuel Ugarte, Matthijs de Ligt, and Tom Heaton before the break began.

United return to Premier League action when they host Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford on 19 October.