Why did Antony miss Manchester United’s victory over Everton?

Manchester United winger Antony was injured and missed the club’s 3-0 Premier League triumph over Everton at Goodison Park on Sunday.

Antony entered United’s injury list ahead of the trip to Merseyside with what was described as a “knock” by the Manchester Evening News. The Brazilian was deemed insufficiently fit to play and hence did not even make the bench.

He joins Casemiro, Rasmus Hojlund, Christian Eriksen, Lisandro Martinez, and others on the sidelines, however the injury does not appear to be significant.

Antony has struggled to recapture a regular position since being reintegrated into the team following a period of absence, despite starting United’s opening four Premier League games of the season, albeit without a goal or assist, and was a near automatic starter when fit during his rookie campaign.

When he was accused of assaulting many women, the former Ajax star was granted permission to return to Brazil for several weeks during and after the September international break. Antony has firmly refuted the charges, but the investigation is still underway.

United manager Erik ten Hag publicly backed Antony to regain his form earlier this month.

“That is also team, first and foremost, and the team is not playing well when we don’t bring him the balls, and I am also responsible for that,” the United manager stated before the game against Fulham.

“However, there was obviously a lot of noise, which lowered his levels.” He can do better, but so can everyone else. Antony is also a warrior; he has confidence, he is fearless, and I am confident that he will deliver, that he is the correct player for us.”

Last season, Antony showed flashes of quality that piqued the curiosity of Liverpool, Manchester City, and Chelsea, scoring in each of his first three Premier League games and scoring the goal that saw United knock Barcelona out of the Europa League. However, he was too inconsistent, and injuries also played a role in his campaign’s demise.