Chido Obi has been hit with a fresh injury problem as he looks to break back into Manchester United’s first-team squad under Rúben Amorim.
18-year-old striker Chido Obi signed from Arsenal for Manchester United last season in what became one of the most highly-covered Academy transfers in all time, and it did not take too long for the Dane to make his first-team debut.
After scoring multiple hat-tricks with the U18s and U21s at Carrington, Obi made his debut during a 1-0 loss against Tottenham Hotspur in North London, and went on to play 212 minutes across eight appearances, including a start against Brentford.
However, the young forward has barely been involved with Rúben Amorim’s side this season due to their lack of fixtures outside the Premier League, with no European or Carabao Cup football to rotate the squad.
Obi has spent a lot of time either playing with the club’s U21s or training with the first team to continue developing his physical profile.
Obi hit with month-long injury
On Tuesday evening, United’s U21s played against Anderlecht in the Premier League International Cup, but fell to a 4-1 defeat on the night.
However, it was quickly apparent that Obi was not part of the squad that he would have otherwise started for, and has not been with the U21s since a fixture against Notts County in the EFL Trophy on 4 November.
According to the Manchester Evening News, the Dane has suffered an injury and is set to be out for around a month, although it’s also stressed that the problem is said to be minor.
Despite being involved in pre-season with the first-team, the club made the decision to let Obi continue in the Academy, rather than have him play senior football.
Obi will get his chance later this season
Amorim was asked about the young striker Aerliaer this month and if he felt Obi could make the step up to first-team football. “Yeah, of course, he played last year,” Amorim replied. “I think it was too soon, we didn’t have a team.
“That we can put a young kid with 16, that he will not struggle, or will struggle a little bit, was completely necessary to do that. The perfect conditions. We have the opportunity, and we seek that opportunity for the kids, so he’s one of the guys, but I think he started too soon.
“And sometimes it’s hard to deal with that, with the kids, because they think that I’m already here. No, you are here for necessity, and we need to be careful also with that.”
However, with United set to play in the FA Cup come January and Obi’s injury likely to be done and dusted shortly after the new year, United’s fans could soon see their exciting young star take to the pitch again.
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