Matheus Cunha was forced off with a suspected hamstring injury during Manchester United's 3-2 win over Burnley before the international break and is a doubt for the Manchester Derby
Matheus Cunha of Manchester United leaves the pitch following an injury during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Burnley
Matheus Cunha went off injured in Manchester United's last game(Image: Jan Kruger/Getty Images)
Matheus Cunha has given Manchester United a timely fitness boost after sharing a positive update on his injury. Cunha was forced off during United’s 3-2 win over Burnley before the international break, sparking fears he could be set for a spell on the sidelines.
The £62.5million summer signing from Wolves went down in the first half of the Premier League game clutching his right hamstring. Both he and Mason Mount picked up injuries in the match, which took the shine off United’s first league win of the season.
Cunha was forced to pull out of Brazil's squad for their World Cup qualifiers in the international break. He reassured fans by saying that he'll be 'back soon', though, and there was more good news on the Brazilian’s Instagram account.
Posting a photo of himself on an exercise bike in the gym, Cunha wrote: "The time is flying," alongside a clock emoji and dynamite emoji. He then shared another photo of him posing with a UFC wristband saying: ‘obrigado pela moral’, which translates to ‘thanks for the moral’.
Ruben Amorim will be desperate to have Cunha available for their trip to face Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday. United have picked up where they left off last season, struggling for creativity, despite spending over £200m on new forwards. They opened the campaign with a 1-0 defeat by Arsenal before a 1-1 draw against Fulham and an embarrassing defeat by Grimsby on penalties. The win over Burnley came via a late penalty and Amorim expressed his worries post-match.
"It was hard to lose Cunha and Mason Mount, because Mason Mount played 30 minutes with an injury," he said. "I'm concerned about that, because they are so important for us. We will see."
Matheus Cunha is training on an exercise bike
Matheus Cunha is working to get fit(Image: Instagram/@cunha)
Matheus Cunha
He is feeling positive
He added: "I don't know [how are they], I don't know. We will check them. We need those guys really bad to be really competitive."
Amorim will get a clearer picture of Cunha’s fitness levels in the coming days before he decides on his squad and line-up for the Manchester Derby. While Cunha is yet to get off the mark in a United shirt, his fellow new forward Bryan Mbeumo has now netted in back-to-back matches. The £71m signing from Brentford scored in the defeat by Grimsby before finding the net against in the win over Burnley.
“Every game is hard and important. We had the game with us in the first half, but we had to fight every minute,” Amorim told BBC Match of the Day. “I'm very happy, and we win as well – as a striker, it is important to be confident with goals.”
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