Manchester United have had 99 problems this season, but an injury crisis thankfully wasn't one of them. Until it was. Lisandro Martinez's season-ending injury against Crystal Palace began a torrid spell of setbacks in February which would later see star boy Amad Diallo ruled out for the rest of the campaign with an ankle issue and Kobbie Mainoo sidelined for a few weeks with a muscle injury following a disastrous week of training which saw Toby Collyer and Manuel Ugarte sustain knocks and Leny Yoro and Christian Eriksen succumb to illness.
The outbreak of injuries and illness led to United naming a substitutes bench for Sunday's game against Tottenham that contained eight players with no senior experience at all. But as Machiavelli famously said, one should never waste an opportunity offered by a good crisis, and the latest spate of injuries has opened up the chance for several of United's crop of talented youngsters to make their mark for Ruben Amorim's side.
While the first team continue to flounder and are enduring their worst season since suffering relegation in 1974, the club's youth system is in rude health. United's Under-18s are second in their league and have advanced to the quarter-finals of the FA Youth Cup, while the U21s are fourth in the Premier League 2. The club have also become much more active in the transfer market for young stars as they look to mimic the success of Manchester City and Chelsea in that arena.
With that in mind, GOAL picks out 10 academy stars who can step up into the United first team and lend Amorim a helping hand in his hour of need...
