Manchester United have reason for optimism over Matheus Cunha’s fitness after the forward picked up a suspected hamstring injury.
Cunha, a £62million summer signing from Wolves, has started all three of United’s Premier League matches this season.
But the Brazil international was forced off before the half hour mark during the 3-2 victory over Burnley before the international break.
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 he will be ‘back soon’. Cunha also shared footage of him working in the gym last Sunday, suggesting he has been making good progress.
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United are back in action this weekend, heading to the Eithad for a huge derby with Manchester City. That game will be followed by the visit of Chelsea with Amorim desperate to have his new 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 due to a thigh injury with Omar Marmoush another casualty.
Liam Delap meanwhile was forced off with a hamstring injury during the first-half of Chelsea’s victory over Fulham.
The striker is facing 10 weeks out on the sidelines, with that timescale suggesting he has suffered at minimum a grade 2 hamstring injury.
In Cunha’s case, the striker was not taken to hospital after his injury as was the case with the Chelsea star with the prognosis likely to be much 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.’
