Injury expert provides Ayden Heaven assessment after Man Utd nightmare as “best outcome” explained

An injury expert has provided an assessment on the injury which Ayden Heaven suffered during Manchester United’s 3-0 win over Leicester City on Sunday night.

Manchester United signed 18-year-old centre-back Ayden Heaven from Arsenal in January for a reported £1.5 million fee.

Initially seen as a first-team addition for Ruben Amorim, he was an unused substitute against Everton and Ipswich before making his debut in the FA Cup against Fulham.

After impressing, he featured against former club Arsenal following Leny Yoro’s injury in the first-half and continued to impress.

This led to him earning his first professional start in United’s biggest game of the season against Real Sociedad – they won 4-1 and Heaven was one of the standout performers.

The teenage defender continued in the lineup in the Premier League against Leicester City, where he was the best player in the first half.

However, early in the second period, a collision with Patson Daka left him in severe pain, and he was stretchered off with a heartbreaking injury.

It was reported on the night that Heaven had his foot in a brace after the game but was able to walk unaided from the changing room to the team bus.

Injury expert provides Heaven assessment

United fans have been extremely worried about the possible extent of Heaven’s injury, especially due to his brilliant start to life at Old Trafford.

It is unlikely that any official updates will be provided for several days, especially since it is the international break now.

However, X account PhysioScout, who is a football injury analyst, has provided a breakdown of the potential injury Heaven suffered from the limited footage provided of the incident.

They state that it looked to be Heaven’s left ankle which was impacted by Daka’s challenge, which is usually a “less worrying” injury as long as a lower leg fracture is cleared by United’s medical team.

It was added that the best possible outcome would be a Grade 1 lateral ankle sprain, which would keep him out of action for just one to two weeks.

Meanwhile, a Grade 3 sprain would leave him on the sidelines for up to six weeks, and if it does turn out to be a lower leg fracture, the defender may be unavailable for up to 10 weeks.

International break comes at good time for United

Should the injury to Heaven be on the kinder end of that recovery-time assessment, it seems like the international break has come at the perfect time.

It would be a huge boost for the team if the exciting teenager is not far from a return when action resumes against Nottingham Forest at the beginning of April.

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United are also expecting Yoro to return after the international break, which will mean that there is no rush for Heaven to be thrown back into the side if his injury isn’t serious.

Meanwhile, the international break also gives time for players like Mason Mount to work on their fitness ahead of an important end to the season.

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