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The international break will give the Manchester United squad, reeling from injuries, some time to rest and regroup for the business end of the season.
However, those plans were recently thrown into jeopardy when the likes of Lisandro Martinez, with no aim of actually playing, were selected to travel with the Argentina squad.
After Martinez, one can add another left-footed United centre-back to the list of players who have missed out through injury, although this one might be to United’s benefit.
The Belfast Telegraph reports that Jonny Evans has been ruled out of the Northern Ireland squad.
The reason behind the omission is being reported as “a knock” he picked up against Everton in the fixture last weekend which United won 2-0.
Evans was applauded off the pitch in that game after another maverick defensive display where he repelled anything that came near his box to preserve a clean sheet.
It continued a remarkable career renaissance for a man who was seen as an unnecessary/emergency signing in the summer after leaving relegated Leicester City.
It is a measure of his increased importance to the club that his exclusion from national duty will be a boost for United as he has been the single most reliable defender in the squad this season.
United are facing a daunting fixture list now, with Liverpool up next followed by the likes of Brentford, Chelsea, and Liverpool again in the league.
With the club getting away from the Champions League qualification spots, the team needs to be at its best, with the most players available, to make a late assault for a European place.
As such, Evans getting a rest of nearly two weeks before the crunch period is a huge boost.
Of course, the caveat is that the knock is indeed just serious enough to exclude him from international duty but not serious enough for him to miss United games.
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