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United — who may give Alexis Sanchez his debut after his lucrative move from Arsenal on Monday — travel to the unglamorous surroundings of fourth-tier Yeovil whose manager Darren Way is fortunate to even be in the dugout.
The 38-year-old suffered horrific injuries when he was a passenger in a van involved in a collision in 2008 and he told the BBC he considered himself lucky to have survived.
“I feel very fortunate to be alive today,” said Way.
“I’ve had 28 operations on my injuries and I’m due to have more. I’ve got another one coming up after the Manchester United game.”
Unsurprisingly Way’s playing career ended after the crash — he was confined to a wheelchair for a while — as among his many injuries he broke and dislocated his left hip and also a broken femur.
“I battled against the odds just to walk again,” said Way.
“To be confined to a wheelchair and not being able to walk is not nice. To only having access to one arm is not nice.”
Way — who is Yeovil through and through having had three spells with them in midfield — hopes those dark days will be brightened up considerably by claiming the scalp of United and recording one of the greatest ever giantkilling performances.
“Sometimes people don’t dream big enough,” said Way, whose side are hovering over the relegation places and at risk of dropping out of the league.
“We have worked extremely hard against all odds to get this opportunity. What I don’t want my players to do is waste it.
“If we get a result this will be the biggest story ever in Yeovil’s history.”
Sanchez, who has become the highest paid player in the Premier League earning a reported pre-tax salary of £500,000 ($695,000, 567,000 euros) a week, will not have the red carpet rolled out for him should he play.
“It’s going to be a little bit different for him,” said Way.
“The crowd is going to be on top of the players and he won’t be playing on a carpet, that’s for sure.”
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