Matheus Cunha update as injury expert reveals possible extent of hamstring blow

Manchester United will be hopeful Matheus Cunha will avoid a lengthy layoff after he was forced off injured in last weekend’s victory over Burnley.

Cunha appeared to suffer a hamstring injury before the half hour mark during last Saturday’s Premier League clash at Old Trafford.

With Joshua Zirkzee brought onto replace him, the 26-year-left the pitch and went straight down the tunnel with Ruben Amorim admitting post-match he was ‘concerned’ for the forward, along with Mason Mount who was also forced off at half-time.

There was more optimism later in the afternoon however with Cunha spotted walking freely and comfortably as he left the stadium, also writing on social media this week he will be ‘back soon’.

With a derby against Manchester City waiting once the international break wraps up followed by the visit of Chelsea, Amorim will be desperate to have his £62million signing back as soon as possible.

United were not the only team dealt an injury blow heading into the international break with City losing Rayan Cherki for up to two months with a thigh injury.

Liam Delap meanwhile was forced off with a hamstring injury during the first-half of Chelsea’s victory over Fulham with Enzo Maresca revealing at full-time the striker is facing six to eight weeks out of action.

That timescale for his return suggests Delap’s issue is at minimum a grade 2 hamstring issue although reports have suggested it could be worse than initially feared. In Cunha’s case, the striker was not taken to hospital as was the case with the Chelsea star with the prognosis likely to be slightly more positive.

Stephen Smith, CEO and founder of Kitman Labs which specialises in injury welfare and performance analytics working with the Premier League, told Metro: ‘We are looking at the same body area as Liam Delap.

‘But potentially with what we heard and saw in terms of him [Cunha] being able to move around quite freely as he left the stadium, we would like to think it was a lower grade injury.’

A grade 1 hamstring injury could still typically see a player ruled out for two to three weeks.

‘A grade 1 injury is generally where there is pain and swelling but no or minimum fiber disruption,’ Smith explained. ‘So there is a minimal amount of the muscle that has become damaged or inflamed.

‘A grade 2 is there a small amount of fiber disruption so it means the muscle has torn slightly and a grade 3 is a complete rupture.’

After picking up the injury, Cunha was immediately withdrawn from the Brazil squad for their World Cup qualifiers, remaining in Manchester to begin recovery work.

‘United absolutely had to keep him in Manchester during the international break, there is no point putting a guy on a plane going away that far when you know he is not going to be able to participate,’ Smith said.

‘Getting him straight into rehabilitation mode at Carrington will have been really important.

‘They obviously want him to play a really important role this season. It ensures they can immediately begin work on the rehab side of things but also on his game knowledge, the understanding of what they are trying to do tactically and technically. They will want to continue working on that face to face.’