Injuries can, of course, be sheer misfortune – a bad tackle, a wrong move – but they can also be cumulative, the effect of a player being pushed too far into what Arsene Wenger called the “red zone”. But this is not the only consequence of fatigue. Even if injuries are avoided, performance can drop.
It is this, more than anything, that should give Solskjaer and Manchester United pause. United captain Harry Maguire has played 3,946 minutes this season, an order of magnitude larger than any other outfield in England. He has played the equivalent of five more full games this season than his closest rival, Youri Tielemans of Leicester.
But Maguire is not alone. United have seven players who have played over 2,700 minutes this season. Leicester and Everton have only one, Chelsea two, and Spurs and West Ham three. Even Liverpool, their options limited because of all these injuries, only have five. If fatigue turns out to be a factor, the core of the United squad are more likely to be distressed down the home stretch than anyone else.
To some extent, of course, this is offset by his resources: Solskjaer has options if any of his main players are sidelined or suffer an alarming drop in form. Having to play Donny van de Beek because Bruno Fernandes needs a rest shouldn’t be a big sacrifice.
Indeed, it is perhaps the formula, more than any other, which defines the next two months, which is used to find the signal in the noise of this season. More than in any other season, the final prize offered in the Premier League will go to the teams that can best minimize the effects of fatigue, either through reduced workload or possessing the strength in depth to overcome it. In all the chaos, in the end, there will be some sort of order.
