INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Manchester United suffered a double blow during its friendly against Arsenal as Rasmus Højlund and Leny Yoro were forced out of the match with injuries.
Højlund and Yoro were substituted in the first half as Arsenal beat United 2-1 in front of 62,486 fans at SoFi Stadium.
It is the last thing manager Erik ten Hag would have wanted to see after last season was plagued by injury problems that contributed to an eighth-place finish in the Premier League.
Højlund, having scored United's first goal, lasted just 13 minutes before going down with what appeared to be a muscle problem.
The striker, who was playing his first pre-season game after competing at Euro 2024 with Denmark, was able to leave the pitch but headed straight for the tunnel.
Yoro, a £52m summer signing from Lille, was next to suffer an injury and was substituted midway through the first half. The 18-year-old was visibly limping as he made his way to the dressing room.
Another centre-back, Victor Lindelöf, missed the game through injury after also missing the win over Rangers before the tour of the United States.
United's mounting injury problems come just a day after Ten Hag warned that the problems that plagued last season could be repeated.
“The match schedule and the load on the players is very high,” Ten Hag said at a news conference on Friday.
“We're not the only team with so many injuries. There are a lot of teams in the Premier League with a lot of injuries. We weren't even the worst.
“What we had was bad luck, we all had it at the end of the season. The pressure on the players is immense and this season it is getting even worse because of the new format in Europe. It will pass.” [again].”
Højlund's goal gave United a 10th-minute lead against Arsenal after chasing down a Marcus Rashford ball down the left.
Højlund outmuscled 17-year-old Ayden Heaven and scored between Arsenal goalkeeper Karl Hein's legs.
Gabriel Jesus equalised in the 26th minute, turning in a cross from the left. After a series of changes in the second half, substitute Gabriel Martinelli gave Arsenal the win, cutting in from the left and beating André Onana with a low shot inside the post.
