Manchester United are in no rush to bring Rasmus Hojlund back from injury, as the club look to carefully reintegrate the striker and avoid repeating last season’s injury troubles, according to ESPN.
Hojlund suffered a hamstring injury in United’s first game of their pre-season tour of the United States, against Arsenal in Los Angeles at the end of July. The number nine was ruled out for six to eight weeks with the issue, and was expected to return immediately after the current international break.
However, the Red Devils are eager to avoid exacerbating the injury by taking a cautious approach in his rehabilitation, and will likely use him sparingly in the next few weeks. The signing of Joshua Zirkzee means Erik ten Hag has another option he can utilise up front, and that the north-west club can afford to gradually reintroduce the Dane.
Arriving from Atalanta last summer in a blockbuster £64 million deal, that could rise to £72 million with performance-related add-ons on a contract worth around £85,000-per-week, Hojlund endured a hit-and-miss debut campaign in Manchester, although he did end the season with a respectable 16 goals from 43 appearances in all competitions. The 21-year-old will have been keen to build on this return from the offset, but suffered a significant set-back in pre-season, injuring his hamstring in a friendly against Arsenal.
The Denmark international featured in the game against the Gunners at the SoFi Stadium just six days after returning to full training, which was just three weeks after his exploits in Euro 2024 ended. Thus, he hasn’t the opportunity to accumulate any meaningful minutes since Denmark’s elimination from the continental tournament, and will need time to build fitness within the proper campaign.
This is United’s justification for easing the player back, perhaps not reintroducing him until a few weeks after when he was expected to return to action. Hojlund has been working in the gym at Carrington and has partaken in a number of individual sessions on grass, but hasn’t yet taken part in training with the entirety of Ten Hag’s ensemble.
While he will be assessed ahead of Saturday’s trip to St. Mary’s to face Southampton, ESPN report that he ‘won’t be pressed back into action’ and it’s very plausible he won’t feature against the Saints. Ten Hag will hope a return is near for Hojlund, with the pressure mounting on the Dutchman after two successive Premier League defeats.
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