Jose Mourinho confirms Nemanja Matic has undergone surgery and will miss start of Premier League season

Manchester United have suffered a huge injury blow in the lead up to the start of the Premier League season after Jose Mourinho confirmed Nemanja Matic has undergone surgery.

The Serbian will miss the start of the campaign, although no timescale has been set on his return.

Mourinho said Matic was carrying the injury at the World Cup and went for the operation after arriving back from the tournament in Russia.

After United’s 4-1 pre-season defeat to Liverpool in Michigan, Mourinho said: “He has had surgery. He is out for the start of the season.

“He came from the World Cup with an injury and the time he had to rest on holiday was not enough to resolve the problem.”

Mourinho also addressed Antonio Valencia, who is yet to feature so far in pre-season.

The former Chelsea manager pointed to Valencia’s condition after returning from holiday as the reason for his absence.

Antonio Valencia comes from holiday – I think too much holiday for him,” he added. “His condition was not good when he was back, then injury.”

Luke Shaw missed the defeat to Liverpool with a niggle, while Chris Smalling was withdrawn during the warm-up as a precaution.

Despite the heavy defeat, Mourinho refused to read too much into the result due to the much-changed side he played, with several youngsters featuring.

“The majority of the players that played are not going to play – some of them are not even going to belong to the squad,” he said.

“I have some brave boys. The ones that are always there and ready. It’s not a step for anything.”