Sofyan Amrabat completed a loan move to Manchester United on transfer deadline day, with staff detecting a back issue during the midfielder’s medical
Sofyan Amrabat sealed a deadline day move to Manchester United
Manchester United discovered Sofyan Amrabat had a slight back injury before he completed a deadline day move to Old Trafford.
Amrabat has joined United on a season-long loan from Fiorentina for a fee of around £8.5m, with the Red Devils having an option to make the move permanent next summer for £21.5m.
The 27-year-old was United’s fourth deadline day addition, with goalkeeper Altay Bayindir signing from Fenerbahce, left-back Sergio Reguilon joining on loan from Tottenham and free agent Jonny Evans agreeing a one-year deal.
However, the Athletic are reporting that United staff found that Amrabat had a ‘minor back injury’ during his medical, but pushed through the deal as it was not thought to be serious.
Amrabat has previously revealed he struggled with a back issue during the 2022 World Cup that took last winter in Qatar. The midfielder starred for Morocco as they reached the semi-finals, scoring major upset wins over European powerhouses Belgium, Spain and Portugal along the way.
He almost missed Morocco’s historic penalty shoot-out win against Spain due to a back injury. However, he ended up playing the full 120 minutes of action after having a painkilling injection before the game. “What people don’t realise is that I didn’t even know I could play that game,” he told the Athletic in March.
“I had a back injury. It came out of nowhere, the day before the game. I couldn’t move, my back was locked. I worked with the physio until three in the morning to try to make it better. We tried everything and I didn’t sleep at all because it was so stressful. All I was thinking was, ‘Can I play?’.
United discovered he had a slight back injury during his medical (
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“On the morning of the game, I was still in pain. I spoke to the coach and he told me, ‘You have to play, we need you, it’s the World Cup, your country needs you’. It was not an option for me not to play. But I was scared of letting anyone down with my performance.
“I didn’t know how I was going to do it. I hadn’t slept, I felt tired, I had back pain. I did the warm-up and I was still not good. So I told the coach again, ‘I want to play, but as long as you know you may have to change me after 10 minutes’.
“I had an injection and when I heard the referee’s whistle I just forgot everything. I played like crazy. It was 120 minutes because the game went to extra time. I ran 15 kilometres, the most of everyone on the pitch.”
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