The way Jose Mourinho talks about Manchester United players getting injured one would think some gypsy has put a curse on the Red Devils. While it is a bit strange to picture Pep Guardiola in his suave suits as sitting in a dark corner pushing pins into an Eric Bailly voodoo doll, Jurgen Klopp with his pale yellow teeth and sparrow nest hair would be a perfect cast for the role.

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 Realistically however, Mourinho needs to look no further than himself when it comes to holding someone responsible for United’s ever mounting injury crisis.

The draw against Swansea saw both Luke Shaw and Eric Bailly limp off the Old Trafford pitch with injuries and now United has a full defence for its injured XI. Before the game when asked if it was correct for the club to let players like Morgan Schneiderlin, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Memphis Depay and Paddy McNair leave, Jose said the decision was made by the players and not the club.

Bit strange for the manager of Manchester United to talk like an agent of a player. Unless there is an appearance clause in the contract of a player, there is no compulsion for United to sell a player simply because ‘he wants to play every game’.

Jose knows what it takes to play the Europa League - he won it with Porto - and he knows fully well the demands of the Premier League. Yet he happily let players leave and has been reluctant all season to give a chance to academy talent.

His criticism of injured players has been a bit bizarre too. If one was to go by Jose Mourinho’s last few press interactions one would think Manchester United, one of the biggest clubs in the world, has no medical department.

That it was the players who decided if they were fit to play. Throwing jibes at Chris Smalling and Phil Jones for being injured is embarrassing. Is Jose really trying to say that Smalling and Jones should simply walk into his playing eleven carrying injuries? Or does he think the players are reluctant to play for him despite being fit?