Manchester United man insists he’s “ready to play” – waiting for manager to pick him

Manchester United centre-back Victor Lindelöf has insisted that he is now “ready to play” following a two-month injury and return under Erik ten Hag.

Manchester United’s injury situation this season under Erik ten Hag has been slightly better than in 2023/24, though it continues to pose major challenges for the team.

Last season, nearly all of United’s key players were sidelined for multiple matches due to injuries, with Bruno Fernandes and André Onana being the rare exceptions.

Read More: “There is no point…” Rasmus Højlund provides fresh injury update with Denmark

The defence was hit the hardest, forcing United to field Casemiro and an unfit Jonny Evans as centre-backs towards the back end of last campaign, while Diogo Dalot was used as a makeshift left-back.

This season, the centre-back issues have somewhat eased, with the club having Lisandro Martínez, Matthijs de Ligt, Jonny Evans, and Harry Maguire to choose from after Victor Lindelöf and Leny Yoro were sidelined in pre-season.

However, Maguire picked up an injury during the club’s draw with Aston Villa last weekend, and the player himself confirmed that he would miss a few weeks of action. Fortunately, Lindelöf has now declared himself fit to play when needed.

Lindelöf returned for 45 minutes for the first time since a pre-season fixture against Liverpool in August, filling in at left-back after Noussair Mazraoui departed and Diogo Dalot had to return to right-back.

He has since been selected to play for Sweden, and speaking to the media ahead of their Nations League tie with Slovakia, he confirmed that his body is fine to play.

“It’s nice to be back, he said,” quoted by Aftonbladet. “The body is fine, and I have been riding hard during the rehabilitation.

“So it was nice to get 45 minutes at the end (against Villa). It’s always nice to get some match time before the national team.”

Asked if he could start against Slovakia and play 90 minutes, he replied: “We’ll see. I’m ready to play if Jon (Dahl Tomasson, Sweden manager) chooses me.

“Slovakia is the toughest match on paper and we hope to win. We have done good things defensively in the past, although in the first game it was a bit too easy for the opponents.”

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