Man United star Manuel Ugarte stretchered off at World Cup in huge injury blow

Alex PattleSat, June 27, 2026 at 8:57 AM UTC

0

Manuel Ugarte collided with a teammate (AP)

Manuel Ugarte was carried off on a stretcher as his Uruguay team were knocked out of the World Cup on Friday, with the injured midfielder leaving the field in tears.

Ugarte, who represents Manchester United at club level, collided with teammate Mathias Olivera while the pair chased Spain’s Pedri, and he appeared to catch his studs in the turf and injure his knee.

The 25-year-old was treated on the field but was unable to continue, and to add insult to injury, Spain scored through Alex Baena while he was down – on the cusp of half-time, helped by an error from goalkeeper Fernando Muslera.

Ugarte then seemed to wipe away tears before burying his face under his shirt, as he was removed from the pitch on a stretcher.

Then, in added time at Mexico’s Estadio Akron, Agustin Canobbio was shown a straight red card for Uruguay amid a heated climax to the game.

Advertisement

To make matters worse, the 1-0 result condemned Uruguay to a group-stage exit, as Spain topped the group and Cape Verde remarkably advanced in second place. Uruguay’s two points were not enough to make them one of the eight best third-placed teams.

Another ramification of Ugarte’s injury may be a failure to sell him this summer, with it thought that Man United might look to offload the midfielder.

He made just eight starts in the Premier League last season, and only one after Michael Carrick took over as coach.

Spain goalkeeper Unai Simon checking on Ugarte (AP)

Reports suggested that Ugarte could move to Serie A, but in any case, Man United would have been unlikely to make back the £50m that they spent on him in 2024. And now, a summer exit looks altogether unlikely.

Spain suffered their own injury concerns on Friday, too, relating to substitutes Yeremy Pino and Nico Williams. Pino sustained a suspected broken collarbone after a heavy fall, while Williams was seen limping after the game.

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Sports”