Man Utd youngster suffers injury blow in pre-season clash with Arsenal

Manchester United youngster Amad Diallo has suffered a potential blow to his chances of landing a permanent first-team place this season, picking up a worrying injury during the club’s pre-season win over Arsenal at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

Amad has featured prominently so far in pre-season off the back of a successful loan with Sunderland in the Championship in 2022/23 – the 21-year-old Ivorian scored 13 times 37 league appearance as the Black Cats narrowly missed out on promotion.

He started against both Leeds and Lyon in Oslo and Edinburgh respectively, before replacing Antony at the interval in the all-Premier League clash with Arsenal overnight.

But Amad lasted less than 15 minutes against the Gunners, having gone down seeming to clutch his ankle. There had been no other players near him at the time, which may be of extra concern.

Upon being replaced by Facundo Pellistri, Amad was taken away to receive treatment in the stadium’s medical centre. Reporters on the scene then managed to capture images and footage of the player on crutches and sporting strapping on his ankle.

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United's pre-season schedule gives little time for breath, with three more games to play before the end of July and two others on consecutive days in early August. The relentless nature of it means there will be plenty of chances for young players to impress, but it is now unclear how much of a further part Amad will be able to play given the apparent nature of his injury.

Other youngsters will relish still being part of the action on tour. Kobbie Mainoo put in another impressive performance in the Arsenal game, where there were more opportunities for Omari Forsun. On this occasion, Alvaro Fernandes, Hannibal Mejbri and Dan Gore remained unused with the return of several senior first-teamers. Given that Amad was among those brought on at half-time, it stands to reason that Erik ten Hag had been actively checking him out against higher quality opposition.

As for Mainoo, the Stockport-born 18-year-old taking pre-season by storm and playing his way into the hearts of fans, Ten Hag was positive about his impact. The boss did also warn, however, that it will be tough for any youngster to break into the senior squad permanently.

"[Mainoo] is playing with confidence, and I really like his performance," Ten Hag told club media.

"There are more youngsters with us now and they're all doing very good. But I don't want to rise expectations too high. We have to see. The Premier League is tough but, definitely, you can see we have some really good young players who can play a role in the squad. But the bar is high."

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On this edition of The Promised Land, part of the 90min podcast network, Scott Saunders and Rob Blanchette discuss Rasmus Hojlund's desire to join Manchester United and interest in Fiorentina midfielder Sofyan Amrabat. If you can't see this embed, click here to listen to the podcast!

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