After a pretty traumatic week for Manchester United, some well-timed positivity coming out of Old Trafford will be met with open arms.
Only the Red Devils could go into a new season facing an injury crisis on day one.
Manchester United lost Victor Lindelof, Luke Shaw, Rasmus Hojlund and Leny Yoro during pre-season, while Harry Maguire had to pass a late fitness test to feature in the Community Shield against Man City at Wembley.
At this stage, it is hard to imagine that purely bad luck can be to blame.
The appointment of Sam Erith as the club’s new Performance Director in midweek felt like an acknowledgement that things need to change – and fast – if Man United are to avoid another campaign beset by fitness issues.
Mason Mount, restricted to only seven Premier League starts since his £55 million arrival from Chelsea, added to Erik ten Hag’s frustrations when his body broke down again in Brighton.
But with all the optimism surrounding United dissipating after successive defeats to Brighton and Liverpool, the impending availability of Yoro at least gives this long-suffering fanbase something to smile about.
Manchester United given Leny Yoro injury boost
Yoro has only featured in two unofficial games for United so far.
The jewel in the crown of Ineos’ first summer in charge fractured his metatarsal during the opening game of the club’s American pre-season tour against Arsenal. A game in which Hojlund also hobbled off with a hamstring strain after opening the scoring.
Yoro was reportedly facing up to three months on the sidelines.
Six weeks on from that nightmare Arsenal clash and seemingly halfway through his recovery, Yoro is stepping up his long-awaited return to contention.
The Manchester Evening News reports that the 18-year-old centre-half no longer needs to aid of crutches to get around the Carrington training ground.
Yoro has been working closely with United’s physios in the gym too with a competitive debut potentially coming in October.
Rasmus Hojlund also nearing Red Devils return
Joining for an initial £52 million, Yoro is the least experienced of Man United’s Ineos-era signings. But, given how coveted he was and considering some have labelled him the ‘Kylian Mbappe of defenders‘, his signing felt like a massive statement of intent.
Yoro will be hoping that, when the time comes for him to step onto the Premier League stage for the first time, Man United’s backline will no longer be quite as exposed as it was during Sunday’s 3-0 hammering by Liverpool.
A game in which Matthijs de Ligt performed impressively on his first start, and still ended up conceding three times before the hour mark.
The under-pressure Ten Hag is also counting down the days until Hojlund is available again.
“We have to see how it develops and how we can progress during the break, to get match fit,” Ten Hag said before that Liverpool clash, via the Manchester Evening News.
Hojlund returned to the training pitch at the end of August.
“It will take a while before he is (ready to start again),” Ten Hag warns. “He needs also to build some fitness.”
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