On being extremely critical of a footballer's manager's critically wrong non-decision today

I mean, what was he thinking? Your star centre fullback comes away from the endline holding his crotch, wincing with each step and looking to the sideline for direction. And this after missing most of the previous game with a serious groin injury; and this with only a couple of minutes remaining in the first half.

The camera shifts to the famous manager in the stands who, while glancing down to the sideline, suddenly brandishes a closed fist, to signal to carry on the same for the rest of the half. What is this? Has Vince Lombardi risen from the dead to revive the play while hurt philosophy?

No retroactive hindsight here. At the time I kept admonishing the TV screen to take out the injured player. You are going to take him out at the half anyway. If you don't take him out right now, the underdog team might very well get an opportunity to score due to the defender's inability to run (or even walk properly). A goal here might result in a disastrous effect on the entire season since the favoured team is only one win ahead of its nearest rival.

Alas, the telly did not heed my advice, and lo and behold, the other team did score during (appropriately named) injury time, while our wounded star basically stood in the box as a spectator.

This report from manutd.com is puzzling: "That goal on half-time was an absolute killer for us,” Sir Alex told MUTV. “I think if Rio had been fit they wouldn't have got it. But that's the breaks in football and you have to accept these things."

Am I missing something here? The manager wants our fans to accept that the other team wouldn't have scored the tying goal if he had had a fit defender playing? That all the manager had to do was to withhold his closed fist salute at the start of injury time, and make the obvious needed change then, rather than at the half? Am I missing something here?

I found some solace later on, in the fact that our team was able to salvage a draw, which would leave them still one point ahead of the pursuer. But I still cannot understand why such a great manager would make such a bonehead non-decision in this no-brainer context.

As a hopelessly hooked fan, I will still be watching and cheering next week. Sigh.