When Robin van Persie went down late in the game against Olympiakos on Wednesday, the initial indication was that the injury was not serious, despite him being stretched off the pitch.
Well on further review that is not the case as the Manchester United striker has been ruled out for 4-6 weeks with a knee ligament injury after a second scan showed the injury was more serious than originally thought:
“Following further investigation Robin van Persie has a sprained knee which will keep him out for around 4-6 weeks” a statement from the club read.
Six weeks puts van Persie’s return in May and could make him a doubt for this summer’s World Cup if he suffers any set backs in his recovery. The injury will also man that van Persie will miss both Champions League quarter-final games against Bayern Munich.
It will be interesting to see what David Moyes does here with RVP. Does he simply bring in Danny Welbeck and play him in van Persie’s spot and keep everyone else in their same position? Or does he move Rooney in the more central attacking role, which would allow Juan Mata to play in his preferred number 10 position? Juan Mata has been wasted on the right since joining United, but an attacking trio of Welbeck, Mata and Adnan Januzaj playing behind Rooney.