Maccabi Haifa's Manuel Benson Suffers Knee Injury Amid Poor Season Start

Maccabi Haifa continues to struggle in the early season, suffering a 1-0 home defeat to Hapoel Jerusalem on August 17 in the Toto Cup match for ninth place. Alongside the disappointing loss and underwhelming performance, a concerning moment occurred when Manuel Benson, the club's highest-paid player earning 600,000 euros on a contract through the season's end, was injured.

Benson entered the game as a substitute late in the match but shortly after made a sharp movement that caused him to injure his knee. The Angolan-Belgian midfielder immediately clutched his knee in pain and had to be stretchered off. Initial medical assessments ruled out a cruciate ligament tear, but further tests are scheduled to determine the injury's severity.

This setback is particularly unfortunate as Benson had recently recovered from Achilles tendon inflammation and was expected to play a significant role in coach Barak Bachar's squad. The club and fans now await the results of the additional examinations to understand the full impact on Benson's availability.