Manchester United star Juan Mata to miss Manchester City and Real Madrid games on US tour with ankle injury

MANCHESTER UNITED star Juan Mata could miss the next two games on their US pre-season tour against Manchester City and Real Madrid with an ankle knock.

Mata limped off against Real Salt Lake after being crocked by midfielder Sebastian Saucedo.

Getty Images

Juan Mata limped off against Real Salt Lake with ankle injury[/caption]

Getty Images

Antonio Valencia took revenge on Saucedo and saw red for it[/caption]

His United teammate Antonio Valencia took matters into his own hands with a robust challenge on the midfielder which earned the full-back a red card in Utah.

United will be looking for their third win of the tour when the face City for the first ever time on foreign soil on Friday morning (UK time) in Houston.

Mata boarded the flight back to United’s training base in Los Angeles and will struggle to face Real Madrid in California on Sunday evening.

Jose Mourinho said: “Mata has a big ankle but I hope nothing important, a few days, a week maybe.”

The United boss was not impressed with the Real Salt Lake midfielder‘s tough tackling and suggested the player crossed the line.

Mourinho added: “Saucedo, I think is the name of the boy, was really aggressive in the second half and some other actions were a bit dangerous.

Getty Images

Mata set to miss Man City and Real Madrid games[/caption]

Getty Images

Jose Mourinho not happy with the challenge on Mata[/caption]

AP:Associated Press

Mourinho refused to take Valencia off so he was sent off[/caption]

AP:Associated Press

Mourinho was pleased with Romelu Lukaku performance against the MLS side[/caption]

“It’s young people with enthusiasm playing against Manchester United, but it’s a friendly match and it’s a different mentality.”

Mourinho was quick to pay tribute to new £75million star Romelu Lukaku who scored his first United goal in the 2-1 win over the MLS side.

The United boss continued: “I think it’s just nice for him, it’s not important for me.

“Before he scored the goal, I told him ‘I love everything you do on the pitch, don’t be worried about scoring or not scoring’.

“He gets behind people, works and presses well. I like everything he does and he’s now a top striker. The goal is just a detail, not important.”

Following the Real Madrid game, United’s final game in the US is against Barcelona in Maryland.

They fly to Norway to face Valerenga on July 30 and got to Dublin three days later to face Sampdoria.

---

Keep up to date with all the latest news, gossip, rumours and done deals in SunSport’s live transfer blog

---