Ayden Heaven in action for Manchester United
Ayden Heaven has been a revelation at Manchester United under Ruben Amorim before his injury
Chido Obi will not be involved in Manchester United's Premier League trip to Nottingham Forest on Tuesday evening.
The striker will instead be playing for United's U18 side against Aston Villa in the FA Youth Cup semi-finals on Monday night (7pm kick-off). It's a sensible decision with the 17-year-old still needing time to develop away from the glare of Ruben Amorim's first team.
Obi has already made three appearances for Amorim's men, mainly due to injuries. The Denmark youth international is yet to score or provide an assist but cannot be criticised as he continues to settle in at Old Trafford after arriving from Arsenal last year.
But the decision to place him back in Adam Lawrence's youth team demonstrates how difficult the step up to the first team is. Obi has scored 12 goals in 13 appearances for the U18 side but was unable to score once for Amorim's team despite having several good chances to do so in his debut against Fulham on March 2.
It's why Ayden Heaven's performances have been so eye-catching. The centre-back is just a year older than Obi, but it says a lot that his injury against Leicester City before the international break was already seen as a huge blow.
Fortunately for the Reds, Heaven's injury is not as bad as first feared. Amorim is also set to welcome back Harry Maguire and Leny Yoro from injury to mitigate the teenager's absence.
Amorim has confirmed that the 19-year-old will return to action this season, and it seems likely he will slot straight back into his first-team squad instead of dropping down to the U21 side.
Heaven's development has been remarkable and any injury news on the defender has gained huge interest from fans. The London-born centre-half has been at the heart of United's improved form with impressive performances against Real Sociedad and Leicester.
The question will now be whether he can rediscover that form when he does eventually return. More eyes from Old Trafford will be on the young defender than he could have possibly imagined.
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