Manchester United striker Rasmus Hojlund has given fans hope that his delayed debut following a big money transfer could be coming sooner rather than later.
Hojlund completed a move from Atalanta at the start of August that could eventually reached £72m and was presented to the Old Trafford crowd on the pitch ahead of the pre-season win over Lens.
But the Dane has yet been able to get on the pitch properly, forced to miss Monday night's 2023/24 season opener against Wolves won with a solitary Raphael Varane header. That is due to an injury he was already carrying from pre-season with his former club.
United did not disclose the exact nature of the problem when the club addressed it, but described it as only "small" and placed a loose time frame of a "few weeks" on Hojlund’s recovery.
The 20-year-old has teased that he might not be sidelined for too much longer, sharing a training image on his Instagram stories with both devil and 'soon' emojis.
United had been interested in readymade 'number nine' options earlier in the transfer window – including Harry Kane and Victor Osimhen. But the club opted to invest in the long-term with Hojlund, who was previously relatively unknown and has only played 87 senior club games in his career.
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"We are not in a rush," Ten Hag said recently. "We know without him we have also a strong team and the position is covered so we don't rush in this. It is about that he is in the right level, the first fitness level and then we have to integrate him, training and bring him in for the games so we take our time.
"It is not about winning in this moment, it is about winning in the long term."
When Hojlund, who has not yet been assigned a shirt number but is likely to inherit 17 now vacated by Fred, is available, the likelihood is he will quickly get chances to play.
Marcus Rashford started the season in the 'number nine' role but is better operating from the left. Although back in training, Anthony Martial has struggled to stay consistently fit for the last couple of seasons, while winger Jadon Sancho ended up playing a 'false nine' role in pre-season.
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This article was originally published on 90min as Rasmus Hojlund teases Man Utd debut with latest injury update.
