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Blow for Manchester United as Joshua Zirkzee ruled out for rest of season
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Updated 15/05/2025 at 12:38 GMT+1
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Manchester United striker Joshua Zirkzee has been ruled out for the rest of the season. It means the 23-year-old will play no part should United reach the UEFA Europa League final on May 21. Ruben Amorim's Red Devils face Olympique Lyon at Old Trafford in the second leg of their quarter-final on Thursday, with the sides locked at 2-2 on aggregate after Rayan Cherki's late first-leg equaliser.
‘Ready to return’ – Amorim confirms Onana will play in second leg against Lyon
Video credit: SNTV
Joshua Zirkzee has been ruled out for the rest of the season with a hamstring injury.
Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim confirmed that the Dutch striker would play no further part in the 2024/25 season, and that could include the UEFA Europa League final, should United get there.
Zirkzee was on the scoresheet in the first leg of the Red Devils' Europa League quarter-final against Lyon, nodding in the visitors' second goal at the Groupama Stadium after Leny Yoro had cancelled out Thiago Almada's free kick.
Zirkzee thought he had scored the winner, but Rayan Cherki popped up to convert the rebound late on after Andre Onana had spilled Corentin Tolisso's effort, and the tie goes back to Manchester on a knife edge.
Zirkzee, the former Bayern Munich striker, joined United in the summer of 2024 from Bologna, signed by Amorim's predecessor Erik ten Hag.
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He came off the bench to score on debut, netting the only goal in the slender 1-0 win over Fulham on the opening day of the campaign.
Since then, he has struggled for regular game time and goals, netting three times in 32 Premier League appearances, while he has two in 10 in Europe.
He notched the winning penalty during United's surprise penalty shootout victory over Arsenal in the FA Cup.
"Joshua is out for the season," said Amorim ahead of United's encounter with Lyon.
"So he’s not going to play more this season. Let’s prepare him for the next one.
"It’s tough, especially in this moment. I think he’s improving in all aspects of the game, so it’s hard for any player to stop, but this is football and he has to be ready now to recover."
Amorim confirmed that Onana, who made two errors in the first leg and was dropped for the 4-1 defeat to Newcastle United at the weekend, will return in goal, while his deputy Altay Bayindir, who also made a mistake at St James' Park, will drop to the bench once more.
The Portuguese said that Zirkzee's fellow summer arrival and compatriot, Matthjis De Ligt, would feature again at some point this term.
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