The Danish striker was speaking ahead of his return to the national team during the October internationals.
The 21-year-old striker has been riddled with injuries since joining United last year and has only just come back after a problem he had during pre-season in a game against Arsenal in July.
His first appearance for MUFC this season was as a substitute in the 0-0 draw at Crystal Palace. He has since been involved in every game thereafter and even scored in his first start against Porto in an entertaining 3-3 stalemate.
Speaking to Danish reporters on international duty about his fitness issues, Hojlund said: “There is no point in rushing things and risking another injury. My body feels good again."
Despite this positive feeling on his body, Hojlund added that he thinks playing the full game against Spain on Saturday isn't the best idea. “I might be ready to play 90 minutes, but if I also use my brain a little bit, I don’t think 90 minutes on Saturday against Spain is a good idea.”
He adds that he has also lost a bit of weight since returning to action.
Quotes via United District.
Final Thoughts
I find him going on international duty to then be quite foolish as he didn't actually play the full 90. In fact, Hojlund came off the bench in Denmark's 1-0 defeat to Spain last night. I understand that he wants to play football and get back into rhythm but if he doesn't feel 100% ready, what's the point?
I find that there is more risk of him getting injured and potentially missing some games for United should something go wrong whilst playing for Denmark.
The minutes could do him good but as he is contracted to MUFC and he has been in and out of the side due to regular-ish injuries, I'd rather he stayed at the club to improve his fitness and be 100% ready for United when we return next Saturday.
Even if he did nothing during this break and just took time off, I don't think that that would've been a bad idea either.
We don't want another Luke Shaw situation where he goes and plays for his country despite not being at full fitness only to then pick up something on international duty and miss out again for his club.
This is where I believe that the club and manager have to step in and make a decision, one that the player themselves may not like but could be beneficial for them.
I'd like for my club to start making these type of calls whether the player likes it or not. We just seem to allow our players to make whatever decisions even if it is potentially detrimental to United.
Whether all of them are significant injuries, to have all of Mazraoui, Garnacho, Mainoo and Amad pull out of international duty, I don't think that that is necessarily a bad thing. Having this two weeks off could work in their favor as they'll come back refreshed and ready to go.
With Hojlund saying that playing 90 minutes isn't a good idea, even he is admitting that he isn't completely ready yet. I feel that players should only go on international duty if they are 100% fit otherwise they just jeopardize not being 100% for the club.
I think Hojlund should've remained at United, if I haven't already made that clear. It's also clear that we need him ready and firing up front due to our lack of goals. This should've been even more reason to keep him in Manchester considering his importance to the side and the fact that we are still picking up injuries.
Background Image: Rasmus Hojlund v FC Twente | Image credit: Getty Images via Goal