What happened to Rhys Bennett: Latest on Manchester United whizkid

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Young centre-back Rhys Bennett was making positive progress for Manchester United at the end of last year.

Manchester United’s injuries in defence have left the club without Lisandro Martinez and possibly Raphael Varane for the rest of the season. Harry Maguire’s FA Cup suspension compounds the issue, while Phil Jones is a non-factor.

What United could really do with, is a youngster stepping up. One player who appeared to be on the verge of doing so was youngster Rhys Bennett.

This would be the perfect time for Bennett to take the step forward. Unfortunately circumstances appear to be conspiring against him.

Rhys Bennett career so far

Rhys Bennett captained the Manchester United FA Youth Cup winning side last season, scoring the opening goal in the 3-1 win over Nottingham Forest.

While he did not feature in pre-season, he did feature in the winter friendly matches in Spain. He was particularly impressive in 75 minutes against Real Betis when he replaced an injured Teden Mengi.

Goalkeeper Tom Heaton raved via the club website: “I thought he was excellent actually, really, really good. Positionally, he was excellent. [There have been] a few changes in terms of how the manager wants his defenders to play, so he’s picked that up really well this week.

“I thought he showed that excellently, especially coming off the bench cold in the first half. I thought Benno had a really good night.”

Erik ten Hag also agreed. He used Bennett in a further behind closed doors friendly game against Everton in December and admitted that he considered him for selection in the Carabao Cup against Burnley amid an injury crisis.

Ten Hag told MUTV: “Rhys Bennett did very well against Everton [in a friendly]. We have options.”

At that point the stage was set for Bennett to kick on. Ideally he would have been ready to step up right now, amid the latest injury and suspension crisis.

Rhys Bennett latest

Unfortunately Rhys Bennett has not had the 2023 he hoped for after a promising end to 2022.

He has been hit by injury, which has meant he has not played a single under-21 or under-18 game this year.

Bennett was once again not part of the matchday squad for the under-21 game at Leicester on Monday night and will not be fit to enter the first team picture this season.

It is a real shame considering his progress last year, and the opportunity opening up in central defence. Like Teden Mengi, the timing of his latest injury has worked against him.