Injured Man United midfielder Sofyan Amrabat pulls out of Morocco squad for African Cup qualifying

Updated Sep. 8, 2023 6:07 a.m. ET
Associated Press

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Manchester United midfielder Sofyan Amrabat pulled out of Morocco's upcoming international games because of injury, the Premier League club said Friday.

Amrabat, who completed a loan move to United from Fiorentina last week, will return to the club's Carrington training base for rehabilitation work on an unspecified problem.

He was due to make his 50th appearance for Morocco, which plays Liberia in an African Cup qualifier on Saturday. The World Cup semifinalists then play Burkina Faso in a friendly on Tuesday.

Morocco coach Walid Regragui called up Yahya Jabrane to replace Amrabat for the games.

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United manager Erik ten Hag will hope his new signing will be ready for the team's upcoming game against Brighton on Sept. 16.

United has had a rough start to the season. The team lost two of its first four league games and Mason Mount, Luke Shaw and Raphael Varane are all injured. Also, Rasmus Hojlund missed the start of the campaign because of an existing tissue injury after his move from Atalanta.

United has also had to cope with comments made by Jadon Sancho, who said he had been made a “scapegoat for a long time” after he was dropped for the 3-1 loss to Arsenal on Sunday. Ten Hag said Sancho's performances in training were the reason why he was not selected.

United also said it is taking seriously allegations of domestic abuse made against Brazil winger Antony, which saw the player dropped from his country's games against Bolivia and Peru.

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James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

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