Manchester United defender Victor Lindelof has returned to his native Sweden with his wife and children after they suffered a “very traumatic” robbery at their home in north-west England.
A statement from his wife, Maja, revealed that she and her children had to lock themselves in a safe room to escape the invaders, however they escaped physical harm.
Lindelof has been allowed out of the Man Utd squad, meaning he will miss their Premier League game at home to West Ham on Saturday and possibly more games afterwards.
What happened to Victor Lindelof’s family?
In a statement, Victor’s wife, Maja Lindelof, revealed that the robbery occurred while Victor was playing in Man Utd’s 3-1 midweek league win at Brentford.
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“During Victor’s match this Wednesday night we had a break-in at our home in Manchester,” the statement said. “I was home alone with the two children, but we managed to hide and lock ourselves in a room before they entered our house.”
“We are fine under the circumstances, but it was obviously a very traumatic and scary time for me and my young children. We are now in Sweden and spending some time off with our families.”
A statement from Manchester United about Lindelof confirmed that he had been informed of what happened after the Brentford match. “We can confirm that there was a break-in at Victor Lindelof’s home during the away game against Brentford,” the statement said. “His family, who were home at the time, were uninjured but clearly in shock. them, and for Víctor when he found out after the game, and the club is giving them all our support.
“We encourage anyone with information about the crime to contact police.”
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Manchester United manager Ralf Rangnick confirmed in his press conference on Friday that Lindelof will not play in the upcoming Premier League match against West Ham and has their full support in staying with his family at this time. “I had a long talk with him on our flight home from London and also this morning,” Rangnick said. “We talked for 20 or 25 minutes, he told me what really happened, that this was a traumatic event, especially for his wife and three-year-old son.
“He told me he needs to stay home right now, he doesn’t want to leave his wife and family alone, which I can completely understand, being a father of two myself. We agreed he won’t be on duty tomorrow for the game.”
What does it mean for Manchester United?
Lindelof had started the last two Premier League games, with Harry Maguire out due to poor form. Lindelof was not much better, as United conceded twice in a capitulation to Aston Villa before looking shaky in the first half against Brentford.
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Maguire is likely to return to the starting lineup to replace Lindelof, at least for now as the Swede retires for family reasons. He is likely to be teamed up with Raphael Varane, who has been reinstated in the starting lineup after recovering from a hamstring injury.
Man United also have Phil Jones available, with the fan favorite weighing in in the loss to Wolves with the squad decimated by COVID-19 and injuries.
Sancho also absent for personal reasons
Jadon Sancho may also not play this weekend after missing the Brentford game due to a family duel.
Rangnick said: “He didn’t train yesterday because he still asked us not to train. He attended a funeral on Wednesday, it still affected him quite a bit, he’s expected to train again this afternoon at three o’clock but well now I’m not sure if he’ll be available for tomorrow’s match”.
“He was an important member of the family, someone he was close to all his life. I have to wait and see, talk to him before and after training and make the decision.”
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Eddie is an Australian news reporter with over 9 years in the industry and has published on Forbes and tech crunch.