Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has revealed that Rasmus Hojlund is still not fit enough to make his debut for the team against Nottingham Forest.
Hojlund, who was signed for £72 million from Atalanta last month, has been dealing with a pre-existing back injury, and his recovery is taking longer than expected.
Initially, United had hoped to include the 20-year-old in their matchday squad for the upcoming game against Forest.
However, fans eager to see Hojlund in action will have to show patience as his debut in a United jersey has been postponed. Speaking during his pre-match press conference, Ten Hag mentioned this delay as he said (as quoted by the club’s official website):
“Not for tomorrow. Today was the first time he came into team training. So next week we expect him to do a full week with all the team training. So he’s very near to make the squad.”
Hojlund has resumed full training after his back problem. However, according to Ten Hag, he still needs another week of training with the team before being considered for the matchday squad.
Apart from Hojlund, there is a growing list of injured players for Ten Hag. Mason Mount and Luke Shaw will be out for an extended period, and Tyrell Malacia, who usually covers for Shaw, is also not fully fit.
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This leaves the possibility of Diogo Dalot playing at left-back against Forest. Alvaro Fernandez, who is strongly linked with a loan move, is also an option for that position.
Furthermore, Kobbie Mainoo, Amad Diallo, and Tom Heaton are also sidelined for Man United in the early stages of the new season.
