Luke Shaw And Chris Smalling Have Been Taking Painkilling Injections To Play Through The Pain Barrier

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The pressure has continued to mount on Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho after it was revealed that both Chris Smalling and Luke Shaw have been playing through the pain barrier with the use of painkilling injections, 90min reports.

According to The Sun, both of the England internationals have needed medical intervention in order to play for the Red Devils, but have nonetheless been met with criticism by manager Mourinho, who has claimed his players need to play through the pain barrier in order to succeed.

The futures of Smalling and Shaw, both of whom were left out of England’s squad for the matches against Scotland and Spain due to their injuries, now hang in the balance.

The report claims the rest of United’s squad are behind Mourinho in his criticism of the pair, and it is now likely they will be omitted from United’s next Premier League match against Arsenal after the international break.

England interim manager Gareth Southgate claimed he didn’t know the ‘specifics’ of the injuries sustained by Smalling and Shaw, only claiming that they were unavailable after their absence during United’s 3-1 win over Swansea at the weekend.

“There are physical and psychological aspects to getting an injured player back fit,” Southgate stated.

“There are different approaches towards that because sometimes you might need a nudge to say, ‘Come on, you can’.

“But I can’t comment on the two guys as I don’t know the specifics of exactly where they’re at.”

Mourinho’s interpretation of the injuries has been criticised, after he stated their supposed refusal to be in the matchday squad was a betrayal of United’s “culture”.