Manchester United suffered from probable food poisoning after returning from Moldova following their 2-0 victory against FC Sheriff in the Europa League on Thursday night.
After losing 1-0 at home to Real Sociedad, Erik ten Hag’s side looked to get back in the game against the Moldovan champions.
With the death of Queen Elizabeth II causing domestic postponements across the country, Manchester United got an extra weekend of relaxation to prepare for the midweek trip.
Ten Hag could afford to field a quality lineup for the Group E meeting, which Man United won 2-0 at the Zimbru Stadium due to goals from Jadon Sancho and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Man United’s Premier League match against Leeds United was also postponed due to a lack of police resources, with forces prioritising the Queen’s upcoming state burial at Westminster Abbey.
The postponement of the match against Leeds United may have been a blessing in disguise for the Red Devils, according to The Sun, as Ten Hag’s team has been hit by a food poisoning outbreak.
Manchester United Players Suffer Food Poisoning Outbreak?
Players allegedly reported symptoms on Friday after returning from Chisinau, and the disease is thought to have impacted a total of 12 team members.
Man United is reportedly investigating how the players became infected with the virus, with a meal in Chisinau and something on the private plane back to Manchester both being proposed as possible answers.
Some members of Ten Hag’s squad are believed to have missed two days of training due to the sickness, but others were given the go-ahead to return to exercise on Saturday, and no national team players were forced to withdraw.
Tottenham Hotspur’s first-team squad was ravaged by a strain of norovirus just before the end of the Premier League season in 2006, prompting the episode to be called “lasagne-gate.”
Spurs dropped to fourth place in the Premier League table after losing to West Ham United, allowing Arsenal to qualify for the Champions League instead.
As a number of Antonio Conte’s players missed the match against Norwich City due to a stomach bug, concerns about a similar illness problem surfaced before the last day of the 2021–22 season for Spurs as well.
Harry Kane was among those thought to be sick, but the England captain recovered in time to play at Carrow Road as Spurs won 5-0 to secure Champions League status.
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Meanwhile, Manchester United start the international break fifth in the Premier League rankings, three points behind leaders Arsenal with a game in hand, having won their past four top-flight matches.
Ten Hag will play in his first Manchester derby on October 2nd, when the Red Devils return to Premier League action at the Etihad Stadium against reigning champions Manchester City.
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