Manchester United have had many injuries in defence this season, so Victor Lindelof’s return will come as a bonus, giving Ruben Amorim more defenders to select from.
A difficult season was made worse last week when Lisandro Martinez injured his cruciate ligament as Manchester United suffered a defeat against Crystal Palace.
Lisandro Martinez, who was out of action with serious injuries last season, will miss the remainder of the campaign, which is a major blow for United.
Ruben Amorim had no other choice but to make changes to his defence for United’s 2-1 win over Leicester City. This meant Noussair Mazraoui started in the back three, alongside Harry Maguire and Leny Yoro.
On the bench, Amorim had two options he could throw on at centre-back, including Matthijs de Ligt and Ayden Heaven. He only made three substitutes after brining on Alejandro Garnacho, Joshua Zirkzee and Casemiro.
Victor Lindelof is ready for action
Victor Lindelof returned to United training in January prior to United’s win over Rangers in the Europa League.
The Sweden international has been limited to just nine appearances so far this season, but he has not played since the Carabao Cup tie against Tottenham on 19 December after being forced off in the first half.
After a frustrating injury layoff, Lindelof took to Instagram on Monday night to announce that he is “back”, hinting he’s ready for selection when United take on Tottenham this weekend.
United’s first team had two days off after knocking Leicester City out of the FA Cup and booking a place in the fifth round.
It’s great to see Lindelof back in full training and in contention to play.
Now is the time to impress Ruben Amorim
Although Lindelof has been linked with moves away from Old Trafford, the Swede won’t be going anywhere until the summer at least.
The latest injury blow to Martinez means Lindelof may come back into the frame.
Lindelof has a lot to do to impress the new United head coach after playing just 46 minutes under Amorim.
The defensive pecking order also includes Jonny Evans, and Amorim will be keen to give new signing Heaven minutes in the first team.
Amorim may decide to rotate his defence because Yoro and Mazraoui can’t be playing every fixture.
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