Erik ten Hag provides injury update on Mason Mount and Rasmus Hojlund
Mason Mount and Rasmus Hojlund have both returned to training ahead of Crystal Palace clash
Erik ten Hag has confirmed that Manchester United will carefully reintegrate both Rasmus Højlund and Mason Mount into the squad after their recent recoveries from injury, acknowledging that players were overworked last season.
Højlund and Mount have resumed training and are in contention for United’s Premier League clash against Crystal Palace on Saturday.
However, Ten Hag emphasized the importance of managing their comebacks to avoid further setbacks.
Last season, United endured an unprecedented injury crisis, with 66 separate issues impacting the squad throughout the campaign.
This forced several players into excessive game time, which ultimately led to further injuries.
Reflecting on those challenges, Ten Hag admitted that lessons have been learned.
The United manager stressed that both Højlund and Mount will be eased back into action, avoiding the mistakes of the previous year.
“You have to be careful,” said Ten Hag.
“In top football, you always go to boundaries.
“When you have a full squad available, then it’s easier to manage the load.
“When you are in circumstances like last season and there’s a need to play, we had to overload them.
“We hope we can integrate them in a very careful way.”
United suffered a humbling 4-0 defeat at Crystal Palace during their last visit to Selhurst Park in May.
Erik ten Hag was missing several key players for that match, including midfielder Casemiro, who was forced to play in central defence.
This time, however, Ten Hag has a stronger squad available and believes United are better equipped to face the challenge ahead.
“The circumstances in that moment, from February onwards, we had to find every time 11 players to construct a team,” said Ten Hag.
“Now we are in a different place – we have 18 players to choose from and we can pick a team.”
Before United’s 7-0 thrashing of Barnsley in the midweek Carabao Cup clash, Ten Hag emphasized that winger Antony needed to earn his place as a regular starter.
The Brazil forward responded perfectly by scoring in that emphatic victory, with Ten Hag acknowledging his impressive performance.
“I think every player should give those reactions,” said Ten Hag.
“You have to train hard, you have to perform in training, you have to earn a right to play and when it’s your chance, you have to take it.
“But the manager can only pick 11 players and make five subs.
“So you have to make sure you have those players [available] in every game and performing on a consistent basis perform and, most importantly, when the chance is there, you have to perform and contribute to a winning team.”
On Marcus Rashford, who has three goals in his last two games, Ten Hag said: “Strikers need that belief, now we have a few players on the scoring list, it’s very good for the team, it will strengthen their belief and they will go for more and go for more goals.”
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