Mount, Højlund, Shaw: Manchester United latest injury news update and return dates

Manchester United head into the international break with a growing list of injury concerns, with six players absent for Sunday’s humbling 3-0 defeat to Liverpool. But will Erik ten Hag be able to welcome any of his missing players back in time for their next Premier League fixture, away to newly-promoted Southampton?

We’ve pulled together all of the latest news and updates on the Red Devils’ walking wounded below along with their likely return dates – a list that the Old Trafford faithful will have to hope isn’t expanded by the time their international stars return. Among those called up are new signing Manuel Ugarte, who Ten Hag said would need to work on his fitness before he can be integrated into the starting eleven. Hopefully for Manchester United, Uruguay’s games against Paraguay and Venezuela over the coming week help rather than hinder that process.

Mason Mount

The former Chelsea midfielder started the first two league games of the season in the number ten role but was withdrawn at half-time against Brighton & Hove Albion after picking up what the player would later reveal to be a “minor muscle issue.”

“It looks like I’ll be out for a few games,” Mount told fans on social media, and while a specific diagnosis and time frame for his return has not been revealed by the team, reports have suggested that he is expected to miss four to five weeks of football in total. That would suggest that he is likely to be unavailable for the next two matches but could return for the home game against Tottenham Hotspur at the end of September.

Rasmus Højlund

The young Danish striker picked up a hamstring injury playing against Arsenal in a pre-season friendly in the United States and was expected to miss six weeks as a consequence.

Ahead of the defeat to Liverpool, Ten Hag told reporters that he would be back “after the international break” but also sounded a note of caution, suggesting that “he has to build some fitness.” The original six-week time frame provided implies that he will have at least some chance of facing Southampton, but Ten Hag’s comments seem to mean that he would be unlikely to play a full 90 minutes straight off the bat.

Luke Shaw

The England full-back hasn’t played for his club since February and is still sidelined with a calf issue which was sustained during a training session. That problem has kept Shaw out of the first three matches of the Premier League season and out of Lee Carsley’s first squad as interim head coach of the Three Lions.

Immediately after his injury, Manchester United announced that he was undergoing rehabilitation “with a view to being available after the first international break.” There have been no further statements, suggesting that he should be in line to feature against his former side next Saturday.

Leny Yoro

The £52m summer signing has yet to feature for his new club thanks to a fractured metatarsal sustained during the same pre-season game against Arsenal that also sidelined Højlund.

Yoro underwent successful surgery on the injury in August and is expected to be out for three months, which suggests that late October is his earliest plausible return date. The Frenchman has posted positive updates on his social media which suggested that he is happy with the progress of his rehabilitation programme.

Victor Lindelöf

Yet another pre-season injury victim, the Swedish international picked up a toe injury during a friendly game with Liverpool and hasn’t played yet this season. The 30-year-old, who captained Sweden in recent friendly matches, was not called up to Jon Dahl Tomasson’s squad for the opening round of Nations League games. No timeframe has been given for his eventual return and neither the club nor manager have offered any detailed information as to the extent of the problem.

Tyrell Malacia

The Dutch wing-back missed the entirety of the 2023/24 season thanks to an anterior cruciate ligament injury sustained last May, and nearly 18 months on he has yet to return to full training – but while the club haven’t provided any updates recently, the latest reports suggest that he could be back in October providing there are no further setbacks.