18-year-old centreback Leny Yoro, who just joined Manchester United, will not be making his Premier League debut until the end of October at the earliest.
United pulled a coup to land the promising defender from French Ligue 1 side LOSC Lille who were already in talks with Real Madrid concerning his transfer. Yoro was believed to be more interested in the move to Spain but in the end, he signed for United.
He will be a Red Devil for five years with the option of a further year unless Madrid or another interested club comes calling.
His pre-season with the squad managed by Erik ten Hag got off to a great start but in his second game for the team, he picked up a small knock. Upon further testing, the knock was revealed to be much more than it looked and it was decided that he would have surgery.
That surgery has now been completed according to information put out directly by the club. He will spend three months in recovery, with late October being his earliest date of return to action.
A statement from the club which came on Monday reads: “Manchester United defender Leny Yoro has today had a successful surgery on his foot injury.”
“Our summer signing from Lille sustained the injury during the team’s recent friendly match against Arsenal in Los Angeles, USA. Yoro’s rehabilitation starts now and we look forward to the 18-year-old returning to fitness in around three months.”
United will start the season without the Frenchman as well as four other centrebacks, which presents a nightmarish situation for ten Hag to deal with. Depending on whether he stays or leaves, ten Hag will also be without Victor Lindelöf for the beginning of the 2024/25 season. They are also dealing with injuries to academy graduate Will Fish, who is believed to have a clear path to the first team this season, and Harry Maguire, who is recovering from an injury but in danger of relapsing. Jonny Evans, the veteran, is currently ill but it is believed he will get better before the season starts.
This leaves only Argentine defender Lisandro Martinez as the Red Devils’ only fit centreback ahead of the 2024/25 season.
Rasmus Højlund is also out of the team for the first few weeks of the season and ten Hag is considering using Jadon Sancho in his place because his other striker, new signing Joshua Zirkzee, is taking time to adapt to the team.
“That is what we can do if we don’t have the availability of Rasmus,” ten Hag said. “Of course, Joshua Zirkzee is coming in.”
“He has started training. But he is not so long in training so it it will take time and he has to adjust to English football and our way of playing.”
“Jadon can, of course, play as a striker. He can also play in wide areas but it could be that he is a good option.”
