**Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney has heaped praise on Ayden Heaven after the teenager’s recent displays for the Red Devils.**
The 18-year-old only joined from Arsenal in January for a fee of around £1m, having not yet made his senior debut. Speaking about the defender, Rooney says he has been taken aback by how easily Heaven has settled into the first team:
“Obviously it’s a huge football club, and at this time now when it’s not maybe going right, to come in and play for Manchester United at 18, it’s a lot of pressure because their expectations are on you from the first minute. But I think in the games he’s played, I think he’s been fantastic. I came in as an 18-year-old at Manchester United and you do feel that pressure.
“But to come in as a centre-back, which is obviously a position where you can’t afford to make mistakes otherwise you get punished, is very difficult, and he looks like he’s been there for years. That’s the biggest compliment I can give him…”
Rooney says that having played for the Gunners may have helped Heaven acclimatise to his new club more quickly.
“He’s coming from Arsenal as well. He knows what it’s like to be at a big club, being at Arsenal. So I think that will have helped him. But he doesn’t look like he’s playing with pressure. He looks calm. He’s composed. He gives them good balance, obviously, with his left foot. He looks quick. It looks like he likes defending. So I think he’s a real coup for Manchester United.”
Heaven may be out for a while after what happened on Sunday
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The centre-half was forced off the pitch with what looked like a serious injury early in the second half of the [**3-0 win over Leicester City**](https://manunews.com/blog/man-utd-news-leicester-player-ratings/).
Heaven had to be carried off on a stretcher and, asked about how long the defender could be sidelined for, head coach Ruben Amorim said it was “hard to know” as he will need to undergo a full assessment.
United have several injuries in defence
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With Lisandro Martinez having been ruled out for the rest of the season after rupturing his ACL, and Harry Maguire absent, Amorim doesn’t exactly have many centre-backs left available to him.
The international break has probably come at a good time. There are currently 11 players on the treatment table and he will be hoping that at least some of them will be back in contention for United’s next game against Nottingham Forest. At the moment, there is no indication as to whether Heaven has a chance of featuring in that fixture but the early signs are not promising.
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