Manchester United have sorely missed Michael Carrick in the last few weeks. The midfielder suffered an ankle injury after the 1-0 win over Arsenal. He has been missing in the last few matches, which have contributed to the dip in form for United.
As a result, United find themselves outside the top four and increasingly away from the title race. However, manager David Moyes has confirmed that the player is close to returning to first-team action and he may have him back for the Christmas fixtures.
United have used defenders in the absence of Carrick since the manager was already suffering from injuries to key players. The likes of Phil Jones and Ryan Giggs have been used in this position, which has proven to be a mainstay for United in the style of football that they play.
The England international has just begun light training according to Moyes. United were looking to sign midfielders in the summer. They could only get Marouane Fellaini for £ 27 million, but the former Everton man has so far been disappointing in the red of Manchester United.
Carrick has featured in almost every match for United before getting injured. United are several points below table leaders Arsenal, while it is the case with the race for the top four as well.
“Michael Carrick is getting better and has started some light work back on the grass. I would still expect it’ll be around another two weeks, give or take a few days either side of that. We’re trying to hope [for Christmas], but he’s not joined in any football yet. Obviously Michael is a big influence as far as what we’ve got in central midfield, so to lose him was a big blow. However, there is a big enough squad to cope with it and, over the years, everybody here has played games," said Moyes.