Andre Gignac of Marseille to miss tie against Manchester United
Marseille’s chances in the UEFA Champions League have been dealt with a huge blow following the injury to their star striker Andre Gignac who has been ruled out of their midweek fixture against Manchester United.
Gignac has suffered from an adductor strain while playing against St Etienne and would be out for at least two to three weeks.
He is Marseille’s star striker and has scored thrice in four fixtures in the Champions League. He was signed in 2011 by the Champions for a reported fee of 16 million Euros from Toulouse.
“There was some tissue tear for Gignac. It's not very serious but, unless there is a miracle, there is little chance of seeing him against Manchester,” stated the sporting director Jose Anigo.
There were worries for other players as well, with Loic Remy and Brandao also complaining of fitness issues. It seems the players may have suffered some fatigue while playing but the director was unfazed by the minor injuries.
“For Remy, it's a sprain. But, with the medical staff we have, I'm not worried. They have three days to sort him out. It's the same for Brandao. I think both will be available for Wednesday. I hope we will only be missing Gignac,” added Anigo.
Manchester United recently managed a slim 1-0 win over non-league side Crawley Town and a similar performance would not be acceptable in the Champions League. Sir Alex Ferguson would be expected to pit his best eleven against the French giants.
United have conceded just once in four fixtures in the Champions League and would want to keep their defence intact. The current form of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Wayne-Rooney-c36736 can get them goals anytime but United’s real trouble is in the midfield. Without Paul
Scholes, the side lacks any creativity in the centre of the park and that is where Marseille would have to take advantage.
Marseille also have the advantage of the home crowd and would want to benefit from that. However, without Gignac, that seems highly improbable as the player has scored 7 times already in his first season with the Champions. His services would have come in
handy to break the best defences in the world.
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