By Ryan Benson
19 Mar 2011 11:19:00
Manchester United vs Celtic F.C, International Friendlies,Chris Smalling(Getty Images)
Related Links
Teams
Players
Manchester United defender Chris Smalling is enjoying the added responsibility he has assumed as the club go through a major defensive injury crisis, while Owen Hargreaves is surprisingly pushing for a place on the Red Devils’ bench .
England Under-21 international Smalling has been an ever-present for the last month or so and has impressed too, playing particularly well in the FA Cup win over Arsenal last Saturday.
The former Maidstone United player arrived at Old Trafford last summer for a sum in the region of £12 million and could have been forgiven for not expecting to feature too often. But since the start of the season he has overtaken both Wes Brown and Jonny Evans in the centre-back pecking order.
Speaking to The Telegraph, Smalling said: “It the injury crisis has made me step up. The coaches say you need to get out there and organise in terms of marking and be aware of the people around you.
“It’s a massive test but I’m enjoying it and hopefully I can keep things going. I don’t want the season to end.
“We are down to the bare bones in the defensive department, but being at home today will be a massive help because the fans can get behind us.”
United’s injury crisis means that Nemanja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand, John O’Shea and Rafael da Silva will all miss out on Bolton’s visit to Old Trafford on Saturday, but it is the captain whom Smalling believes will be missed the most.
He continued: “Nemanja is a focal point of our defence and, being the captain, he’s a massive loss.
“But we’ve got experienced players that can come in, like Wes Brown. Bolton will be a physical challenge but we played against Stoke earlier in the season.”
There is some good news on the injury front for United, however, as Jonny Evans looks set to be available for the visit of Bolton, while more surprisingly, Owen Hargreaves could feature from the bench.
The England international has played five minutes of Premier League football this season, that coming against Wolves back in November, and after training with the first-team squad all week, the former Bayern Munich man could start on the bench if no reaction to his recent injury problems is experienced by the midfielder.
