Yesterday eve, Man Utd put out that new signing Leny Yoro is back on the pitch doing individual training.
In the recent international break, the Frenchman posted a video on his Instagram of him running on a treadmill to show his progress from his metatarsal fracture, an injury which he sustained for the club during July's pre-season friendly against Arsenal in the USA.
USA! ✊ USA! ✊ USA! ✊
Sorry, don't know why I felt the urge to do that 😐.
This obviously means that Yoro hasn't featured for his new club - whom he signed for in July - in any official game but these images and videos are quite encouraging for us all given the excitement we have for perhaps the best up-and-coming centre-back in football.
Erik ten Hag had not so long ago said that Yoro was "in the right spot" in terms of his fitness programme. The club have also stated that the 18-year-old - who was recently nominated for the Golden Boy award along with his new team-mates Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho - did some gym work on Thursday 'under the watchful eye of our medical staff.'
While a return and debut for him isn't immediate, just to know that he is moving well in terms of his recovery is a positive.
Final Thoughts
I don't mean to be rude or anything but I do sometimes forget we have Yoro.
Having only seen him play just over an hour of football for us during pre-season, one could be forgiven if they forgot that he is a United player. I'm trying to make myself feel better by saying that considering he escapes my memory every so often.
I was excited when we signed him as one is whenever a new player comes to their club regardless of their age and what they did in their past, but as Yoro is one of the best young defenders out there and the fact that we managed to prize him away from Real Madrid, makes me even more thrilled to see what he can do in a United shirt.
It's a pity that he had to sustain such an injury that would rule him out for a long time because at that point, we still hadn't brought in De Ligt meaning our only CB options were Martinez, Maguire, Lindelof and Evans. We were in desperate need of another defender.
The club apparently knew about Yoro's potential foot injury that could lead to a major problem at some point before we signed him but chose to do the deal anyway considering his quality and age. They felt that it was worth the risk even if it meant him missing out a portion of the season, like he has. Spending £52m on him adds to the fact that there must be a top player in there.
I'm happy that we brought him in as we do need that extra body and we know that he can be here for the long-term (he signed a five-year deal with the option of a further year) but it's just about getting him back asap and 100% ready.
When the club say he was being watched closely by the medical staff, that doesn't feel me with confidence. The medical department at United has been poor for a long time and is an area where major improvement needs to be done given how many injuries we had/have. How they dealt with De Ligt on Saturday was another sign that they don't cut the mustard.
There also seems to be a tendency to rush players back so as to have them as an option bearing in mind how many other absentees we have. A metatarsal fracture takes around 3-4 months to completely heal before someone is 100% ready to use their foot. The timeline for his return seems to be correct but I still have my reservations simply because Lisandro Martinez is a case in point.
He too picked up a fractured metatarsal injury towards the end of the 22/23 campaign. He was back sooner than expected only for him to pick up another foot injury that ruled him out for even longer. It appeared to be a repercussion of that fracture. He has continued to be a little injury prone ever since and while his following two problems didn't anything to do with his foot, one injury has the potential to trigger another.
The butcher has remained injury-free in the 11 matches this season (and hopefully it stays that way) but it's clear that he isn't performing at his best. This could be a possible side effect of picking up so many major problems.
This is why we need to be so careful with Yoro. Martinez gives us a prime example of what can happen if such an injury isn't properly taken care off.
At 18, there is still enough time for Yoro in his career but getting a terrible injury like he has done so early could be a problem for him later on. Fellow Frenchman and ex-Red Rapha Varane recently explained that at the age of just 20, following a major knee injury, his left knee had to compensate for his right thanks to a meniscus tear. This overcompensation led to him having further problems throughout his career which resulted in him retiring this September at the early age of just 31.
Yoro has to be very careful.
But it's good to have him progressing well and back on the grass. Hopefully he can come back stronger and show us all why we bought him.
Background Image: Leny Yoro trains individually for Man Utd | Image via Manchester United official X (@ManUtd)