Antony a potential doubt for FA Cup final after worrying injury

Manchester United winger Antony is a doubt for the FA Cup final against Manchester City next month after being stretchered off in the first half of Thursday’s Premier League clash with Chelsea.

When fit and available, Antony has been a regular for Erik ten Hag’s United in his first season following an £85m transfer from Ajax last summer.

The 23-year-old has been inconsistent since moving to England, but he has shown signs of real promise and will finish the Premier League campaign with six direct goal involvements.

It was a typical Antony run when he got injured in a challenge with Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah. The Brazilian had flashed a trick to advance the ball, but his ankle seemed to get caught under Chalobah’s leg in what was a fair tackle from the opposing player.

Antony immediately seemed to know there was a problem. He was holding his right ankle and quickly signalled over to the United bench, before beating the ground in frustration – usually a telltale indicator that a player is genuinely hurt.

Medics ran onto the pitch, with Antony receiving lengthy treatment before leaving on a stretcher.

Given how serious the level of response and caution was, the chances of making a full recovery in time to play in United’s final Premier League game of the season against Fulham on Sunday seem to be extremely slim. The FA Cup final at Wembley Is then another week on.

Marcus Rashford was rested from the start against Chelsea. He would come back into the starting lineup for the final, but if Antony is unavailable his place would most likely go to Jadon Sancho, who staked his claim further with a smart assist for Anthony Martial’s first-half goal.